Of Gods and Men
by n0b0dys-ang31
Summary: CHAPTER 34 IS UP! This story Sniff is not complete! Summary: when harry answers an unlikely call for help he never imagined how radically it would change his life
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One  
  
"Well boy, what is your answer? Will you join me or not? I grow impatient!"  
  
Rustling sounds, then a weary, slurred voice speaks from the floor. "I have told you three times already, Lord Voldemort. My answer remains the same - Never."  
  
"Crucio." A muffled scream, then there is silence.  
  
A gravelly baritone addresses the person on the floor. "Draco, you have displeased me." He commands a silent house elf "take him to the dungeons and secure him to the north wall."  
  
"Yes Master." More rustling noises and a grunt of pain are barely audible as the person, Draco, is dragged across the floor and down a flight of stairs.  
  
The unseen observer is forced to accompany the Death Eaters, Lord Voldemort and an unconscious Draco Malfoy to the Malfoy Manor dungeons. The observer is forced to watch, helpless, as the house elf chains Draco, crucifixion style, to the north dungeon wall. He silently screams in commiseration as the Death eaters use crucio after crucio on the helpless blond. The observer stands against a wall, tears streaming down his face, but unable to tear his gaze from the sight of his classmate writhing in agony. After almost ten minutes, Voldemort calls them to stop. The observer rushes over to Draco, heedless of the possible personal risk. He gently caresses the still form's face, eliciting a moan from the boy.  
  
"Please.... help me...." Draco moans deliriously. The observer wishes he could. He can see himself, but it seems that no one else can see him. He cannot make a sound, either. Voldemort glides over Draco and inspects him, standing seemingly unknowingly right next to the observer. The observer is shell shocked. Usually, he is overcome with agony from being even in the same room as Voldemort, but this time he feels nothing.  
  
"Hmmmm. We can't have you missing out on all the fun, can we? Enervate." Draco shoots to awareness with a heart rending scream. He arches his back, trying to escape from the manacles, knowing what is about to come.  
  
"You bastard! Let me go! When I get out of here you will regret the day you were ever born, you MUD BLOOD!" Draco rages at Voldemort. "You think you are so special, but I know the truth! Your father was a MUGGLE! How dare you preach blood purity when you are not pure! You-"  
  
His tirade is cut off mid syllable by a quietly furious "Silencio." Voldemort turns and addresses one of his Death Eaters. "Severus, I assume that you have prepared my requested potions?"  
  
"Master, I have, but I have told you before. When the potions are taken together, the unicorn hair interferes with the"  
  
"Yes, Yes! Just give him the potions!"  
  
"Yes, My Lord." He approaches Draco's struggling form. "My Lord could someone stun him for me? He might knock the vials out of my hands."  
  
Lucius Malfoy raises his wand "Stupefy!" he hissed, still seething over his son's betrayal and refusal of the Dark Mark.  
  
Snape approaches Draco's now still form. A look of pain and anguish crosses his face so briefly that the observer wonders if he just imagined it. Snape quickly administers the two potions, and then backs away to the far side of the room. Draco slowly begins to stir as the effects of the Stupefy wear off.  
  
"Lestrange, Nott! Have you prepared your tools or do you need more time?"  
  
"No, My Lord, we are ready now."  
  
The sounds of a heavy table being wheeled to Draco's semi conscious form forces the observer to whirl around from trying to comfort Draco as best he could. At the sight of a man and a woman - Sirius's murderer he realizes with a burst of fury followed by an abyss of grief- wheeling a cart laden with various strange, lethal looking instruments on it, he backs into the corner next to Draco. He can only watch, petrified, as Nott lovingly picks up a long metal stake from the table and expertly begins to heat it with several spells. Within moments, the tip glows a brilliant white, the next few inches are bright red, and in all over five inches of the stake shimmers with heat. Lestrange picks up a wicked hunting dagger and sharpens it against the whetstone attached to the side of the cart. She then arranges the rest of the table with businesslike precision.  
  
"Enervate." Voldemort yet again brings Draco back to consciousness as Nott gently slides the white hot stake against Draco's left forearm. The reek of burning flesh permeates the air, and his shriek of pain echoes sharply off the dungeon walls.  
  
"Instead of the Dark Mark, isn't this rather fitting, Draco? You have your own mark to remember" Draco's head lolls forward as he slips into unconsciousness. "No passing out again! Enervate! I want you to feel all of this!" Voldemort laughs, a bone chilling sound, and most of his Death Eaters cringe before working up enough courage to laugh with him.  
  
Lestrange moves forward and lightly presses the razor sharp knife edge against the exposed skin on Draco's arm. Again and again she slices his skin open, up one arm and down the other. She starts to play connect - the - gashes with the blade. After she finishes with an area, she holds a pair of surgical forceps, grabs the loose flap, and starts to fillet open his skin. When she encounters resistance, she uses the knife again to continue peeling his skin from his body. She tires of playing with his arms and neck and she slowly slices off the remainder of his torn and muddy robes. She begins again on his torso and upper thigh, creating small gashes and filleting the skin.  
  
Nott continues playing with the hot metal stake, sometimes only bringing it close enough to create second degree burns. Lestrange finds the burns especially fun to play with, and enjoys peeling the skin off the already enflamed nerve endings.  
  
"Do you like what you see?" the observer's horrified gaze snaps from Draco's tortured body to the man standing next to him. Voldemort's hungry, lust filled gaze leisurely travels up and down the observer's body before returning to Draco. "You can save him, Potter, and only you! I dare you to try!"  
  
  
  
"HOLY SHIT!!!!" Harry bolted upright out of bed, hands clenched into his sides. He agitatedly ran his fingers through his hair, muttering to himself "It had to be a dream, only a dream." After repeating this mantra for almost ten minutes, he relaxed enough to lie back down and close his eyes. His last coherent thought as he drifted back to sleep puzzled him. "Wait a minute. Why did Malfoy refuse the Dark Mark?"

  
  
Draco drifted in and out of consciousness as Lestrange and Nott took turns torturing his already broken body. He could vaguely recall, in a few moments of lucidness, that there had been someone there who had tried to comfort him. As soon as he tried to remember more, however, waves of agony and nausea would slam into him and he would be fighting to stay conscious, all rational thought forgotten in his fight for survival. After four hours straight, and Lestrange and Nott had run out of good ideas, the Death Eaters and Voldemort gradually wandered out of the dungeon, leaving him alone with his father.  
  
"Look at you." His father sneered at him, eye level with his position hanging on the wall. "You could have been great, greater than I. You could have ruled second to our Lord. Instead you chose to be weak. You are pathetic."  
  
Draco just closed his bruised and bloody eyes in defeat. Even that simple act caused shooting pain to travel throughout his body. Draco heard his father's heavy tread on the dungeon stairs and then all was mercifully silent.  
  
"Osiris?" A broken voice echoed hollowly off the dungeon walls ten minutes after Lucius Malfoy had left. "Osiris I cough need you. Please help me. Osiris?"  
  
Draco tried not to cry from the effort of speaking, but soon tears cut a meandering path through the blood, bruises, and burns that riddled his face. The salt from his tears stung as it seeped into his many wounds.  
  
Within minutes of his plea for help, a scraping, slithering sound reverberated through the walls.  
  
"OSIRIS!!!" he screamed with all his strength, as agonized sobs wracked his body.  
  
A large black snake slithered out of a drain pipe set in the corner of the stone room. It shot into the room and came to a stop in front of Draco. It curled up on the stone floor, then suddenly reared up and flared a hood from its neck.  
  
"Osiris" he panted, addressing the fifteen foot king cobra. I need you to get someone for me - oh hell, I need to write a letter! Accio quill and parchment!" Miraculously they appeared, even though Draco had no wand. Draco looked over his supplies, noted the Quick Notes DictaQuill, and told it to write.  
  
Dear Potter, no, scratch that, hey Potter- AARGH! Ok, whatever, here it goes:  
  
Potter, Voldemort is an idiot. I am aware that you already knew this, but even still, I have come to that realization myself. I need your help - AAH! The agony! (Loud snapping noise) MY SHOULDER!!!!!! SHIT!!!!!!!!!!! Ok, Potter, you better get here soon. You are the only one that can face Voldemort and live, if all the rumors about you are true. It also doesn't hurt that you can talk to Osiris. Listen, I am in serious trouble and pain over here. Voldemort had me tortured, and I am hanging in my - what is that muggle word? Bottemment? Basebottem, Basement, whatever, it's the bottom of my manor. (Moaning noise) owww, you think I would be used to the pain by now but nooo. it still has to fucking hurt. Oh Gods, anything to take my mind off of the pain. Voldemort in a pink tutu, dancing Swan Lake. OWWWW. My asshole of a father joining him in a white tutu - hahaha- OWW! SHIT! Potter, Help!!!!! aw hell, I am a Malfoy. Malfoys do NOT beg. SHIT. Please Potter, I am beg. beg. beg. urrgh! Begging you. Get here soon!  
  
Draconis Malfoy  
  
"Osiris, take this to Potter. Number 4 Privet Drive, Surrey. Please go as fast as you can.."  
  
  
  
Crack! Crack! Bang! Crack!  
  
Harry bolted out of bed for the second time. This time, something or someone was slamming into his bedroom window. He blearily looked around and grabbed his glasses from the battered nightstand. As his room jumped into focus, the first thing he saw was Hedwig cowering in her cage. The second thing he saw was a large, dark shape repeatedly hitting his window. Crack! Crack!  
  
"Mmpgrhh?!?" came a bellow from his uncle's room. Great! Less than a week from leaving school and he's already getting into trouble!  
  
He hurried to open the window and let out a squeak of fright as an incredibly large snake tumbled into his room.  
  
"OHMYGOD! What the"  
  
"Ssssssilence! You are Harry Potter, Number Four Privet Drive?" hissed the snake arrogantly.  
  
"Yessssss I am, what do you want?" Harry hissed back in Parseltongue.  
  
"I am Ossirisss, loyal sssservent and friend to Lord Draconisssss Malfoy. He requesssted I give thisss letter to you." Osiris wound his way around Harry's desk and presented a medium sized pouch on the side of his neck. "The letter issss in thisss pouch."  
  
"Fine!" Harry hastily removed the pouch and opened it. "But keep it down! My uncle will kill me if"  
  
A muffled bellow followed by a loud snore shook the walls of Harry's room. He instinctively ducked under his desk and crouched in the space below it. He waited there for what seemed to be an eternity, until Osiris slapped him with its tail.  
  
"Enough, Human! Ssstop cowering! My massster needsssss your help!"  
  
"What? OW!" In his shock, Harry slammed his head against the underside of his desk. "What do you mean Malfoy needsssss my help?" Harry hissed, rubbing his aching head.  
  
"If you would read the letter, you would know."  
  
Harry grudgingly removed the letter from the pouch, sat down at his desk, and started reading. He paused every other line to stare incredulously at the fifteen foot cobra making itself at home on his bed. "Ok, thisss issss weird. VOLDEMORT IN A TUTU???? Malfoy issss ssssstrange.. Sssssso, why sssshould I believe thisssss?"  
  
"Masssster Malfoy told me to tell you what I sssssaw. I heard him calling for help ssssometime late lasssst night. I found him hanging from the dungeon wall, jussst about in piecsssssesssss. He had multiple broken bonesssss, a dissslocated sssshoulder, and cutsss all over hisssss body. He was alssssso burned very badly. He sssssomehow managed to get a quill and paper, even though he had no wand. He then dictated the note and had me deliver it to you."  
  
Harry just stared at the snake while it explained itself and the letter. He could vaguely recall bits and pieces of a weird dream he had had last night, about...Malfoy being tortured?!?! The whole dream came to him in a flash, and he fell off his chair. The last part of his dream repeated itself over and over in his head. "You can save him, Potter, and only you! I dare you to try!" he mumbled to himself. "Wait. ssssso he really wasss tortured? That wasss not jusssst sssome ssstrange dream I had?" He looked directly at the snake, already half convinced to help Draco Malfoy. "Sssso, why ssshould I help him?"  
  
The snake puffed up indignently. "If you do not, I will kill you.." It whipped over to Harry and struck. It stopped just inches from Harry's surprised face.  
  
Harry just stared at the snake, then began to laugh . The snake backed away, confusion etched on its face. "Ssssso?" Harry asked quietly, still shaking with laughter. "Am I ssssuposssed to care if you do that?" Harry sat down on the edge of the bed and rested his head in his hands. After a few seconds, he reached over the snake to turn on his lamp. "Really, Osssirisss, go ahead. Bite away. You would only be doing me a favor." Harry rolled up the sleeves of the black, long sleeve shirt he was wearing. Jagged scars adorned the insides of his wrists and forearms. "Ssssee? I can't work up the courage to actually kill myself. If you kill me, then I don't have to deal with that assssshole Voldemort any more, and I get to be with my parentssss in the Afterlife. Even if there issss no afterlife and I don't get to sssssee them, I sssstill would no longer have to deal with Voldemort. My death is a plussss, in my eyessss."  
  
The snake hissed in exasperation. "Look, Harry Potter. My masssster doessss not want to die! Esssspecssssially at the hands of that inssssane bassstard, Voldemort. Would you pleassssse help him?! I don't care what you do afterwardsssss. Kill yoursssself, or I will kill you, or you decsssside to live. I do not care. JUSSSST HELP MY MASSSSSTER!"  
  
"You know, I had already decsssided to help him. You didn't have to ssssshout. Hang on. Let me find my pantssss." Harry dug around his room until he found a pair of slightly baggy black jeans. He had somehow gotten then, probably from his aunt. He didn't have the slightest clue why she would buy him clothing. She never had before. All he knew is that they just appeared in his drawer the morning after he arrived from Hogwarts, along with several black shirts, and a nice pair of black boots. He vaguely remembered wishing he had better clothes after looking through Dudley's castoffs, and they were there the next morning. He didn't question a good thing.  
  
Harry quickly dressed and decided that Dumbledore and Ron should know where he went, just in case something happened. He pulled out a pen and two sheets of paper from his desk and started to write.  
  
....................................  
  
Ron- I'm off to rescue Malfoy. To make a long story short, yes I have gone mental, otherwise why would I be doing this? I had a horrible nightmare, that Malfoy had refused the Mark and Voldemort was torturing him because of that. Anyway, Malfoy's pet cobra is in my room and I am talking to it. Seems that it was NOT a dream, and I have to go save his sorry ass. My trunk is still packed and under the stairs in the cupboard. If I do not write to you within twenty four hours, I am probably in trouble and need help. Could you come by and get my trunk before rescuing me and keep it with you? Thanks. Harry  
  
........................................  
  
Professor Dumbledore- I need your help. I had a really weird dream last night. I saw Draco Malfoy refuse the Dark Mark and was then tortured. He was in really bad shape. Then, his fifteen foot cobra came to my house. Osiris, the cobra, told me what condition Malfoy was in, as of when he left, and Draco Malfoy needs immediate medical attention. The thing is, I do not think Voldemort will let anyone else get Malfoy. He told me, in this dream, that I am the only one that can save him. Yes, I suspect a trap, in fact I am almost sure of it, but he is going to die. I do not know why I am doing this, but all I know is that he needs my help. Assuming that I am not captured and killed, please have the Floo Network connected to Number Four Privet. Could you please let Madam Pomfrey know that she is going to have, at the least, one patient? Thanks, Harry Potter  
  
.........................................  
  
"My day just keeps getting better and better." Harry groused to himself quietly. "First that horrible dream, and now this... Ok, the lettersssss are written" he informed Osiris. "Let me get my invissssibility cloak, wand, and broom, and we will go." Harry lifted up the floorboards in the corner of his room and retrieved his cloak and broom, both of which he had shrunk before leaving Hogwarts. He quickly enlarged them and thought for a minute. He grabbed the letters and cautiously approached the still terrified owl.  
  
"Hedwig." Harry eased the quivering bird out of the cage. "Osiris won't hurt you, love. I need you to take these letters to Ron and Professor Dumbledore as soon as possible. Go to Dumbledore first, then Ron. After you are done, come back here right away, all right? I will make sure the window is open for you."  
  
After Hedwig had flown off, he picked up Osiris and wrapped him around his torso. He then wrapped the cloak around him, mounted his broom, and took off for Malfoy Manor.  
  
A little over four hours later, a very sore Harry Potter arrived at what looked like the gates of a large castle. Only Osiris's insistent hissing in his ear kept him from gaping like a tourist. Under the cobra's directions, he guided his broom around to the back of the manor.  
  
"There", hissed Osiris. "That back door. It iss never ussssed, and it issss fairly close to the dungeon accsssessssssss." Harry manuvered the broom and quickly landed.  
  
"Hey, Osssirisss, I dont mean to be rude, but where the hell are the wardsssss around this placssse? I thought Malfoy Manor wasssss unplottable, and no one could get onto the property." Osiris thought for a minute, but didn't know what could have happened. Harry cautiously opened the door and shrank his broom. He put the now matchstick sized broom in his pocket and crept inside.  
  
"You can put me down now" Osiris hissed. Harry hastily unwound the giant serpent from his body, and Osiris slid to the ground noiselessly. "Follow me closssssely" Osiris instructed. Osiris paused, trying to decide the easiest path to take, with the smallest chance of being caught. He led Harry up a winding staircase to the main floor of the manor. They passed several house elves dusting the many suits of armor and cleaning the paintings. They squealed in terror of the enormous snake and rapidly disappeared. Harry and Osiris crept through several hallways, avoiding at all costs anyone who might be walking around. About ten minutes into the trek, they heard raised voices in one of the rooms ahead of them. Harry, upon hearing the conversation, flattened himself against a wall in between two suits of armor and listened in.  
  
"Hey, that kid is late! Shouldn't he be here by now?" complained a low, gravelly voice. Harry wondered What kid? as he crept closer to the open door. A second voice, which sounded suspiciously like Professor Snape's replied "Potter was given that dream over fifteen hours ago. Wait a minute! Potter doesn't even know where Malfoy Manor is! How could he get here?" The first voice replied, sounding slightly frantic "Who do we tell about this? LUCIUS! WE HAVE A PROBLEM!" he yelled. Two cloaked and masked figures ran out of the room. The taller of the two stopped running and walked slowly back to the room. He looked suspiciously at the space of wall where Harry was currently standing, then at Osiris. He seemed to come to terms with whatever personal war he had within himself and removed the mask. Harry nearly cried out in relief. It was Professor Snape. Harry lowered the hood only enough to show his eyes, and then put the hood quickly back into place. Professor Snape glared for a minute, and then gave a small grin.  
  
"So, when is the cavalry coming? Oh, wait, that would be unlike Potter. He always rushes ahead and does the foolish thing like rescue people. Gods know that young Master Malfoy needs a rescue. Well, My Lord's plan is going well. Too bad he knocked out the wards of Malfoy Manor, and no other wards will be knocked out. I tried to tell him that the unicorn hair reacts badly with the powdered gryphon's hook. The location potion completely negates the Destructio potion. That is really too bad. Oh well, I might as well go down into the dungeons. Draco will need a blood restoring potion if Potter doesn't get here soon." With that, Snape turned and walked down the hallway. Harry hurried to follow, walking as silently as possible. Snape hissed quietly "I hope Potter isn't too quiet, lest we should miss his footsteps!" Harry quietly hissed the enlargement spell and mounted his broom. He silently glided behind the Potions Master down into the dungeons.  
  
Snape swept into the main dungeon, and turned to his left. He quietly announced "When I go to treat Draco, I follow the hallway to the furthest door on the right, but through this door I keep all of my healing potions and potions supplies." Then he walked into the potions room and closed the door. Harry followed the hallway. It seemed to go on forever. There were many rooms branching off from the main path. Harry didn't even want to know the kinds of instruments they kept down there. As Harry approached the last door on the right, he was able to hear faint moans coming from the room. He broke into a run and skidded to a halt inside the dungeon. Draco hung limply from manacles clamped around his wrists. Burns covered his body, and it looked as if the skin on his left thigh and right shoulder had been completely peeled off. His lower right leg had been crushed at some point, and his ribs had been pulverized. Both shoulders had been dislocated, and all the fingers of his right hand had been broken. Harry moved forward and drew his wand to remove the chains.  
  
"Aloha - OWW!" An electrical bolt originating from the manacles slammed Harry into the wall.  
  
"Who's there?" croaked Draco. "Potter, is that you?" He opened his eyes slowly and hope filled his mangled features as he desperately looked around for whatever had made that noise. Disappointment flooded his face when he didn't see anyone there. "Oh hell, I'm hallucinating again."  
  
"Malfoy, will you shut up?" hissed Harry, looking around to make sure no one was within hearing distance. "No, you aren't hallucinating. I'm trying to get you out of here as fast as I can."  
  
Relief once again etched itself on Draco's face. "Careful, the locks are warded against magic."  
  
"You could have told me before I tried to use magic to undo them."  
  
"Sorry" Draco muttered." I didn't know you were here. In fact, I didn't think you would even come for me."  
  
"Osiris was rather persuasive. Besides, I had nothing better to do with myself. Summer was getting boring." Harry laughed quietly. Harry turned and muttered a spell at a stick of gum he had in his pocket. It transfigured into a small, pliable piece of metal. Within seconds, Harry had picked the locks and had Draco wrapped in his invisibility cloak.  
  
" You would think, being a Halfblood like me and growing up in a Muggle orphanage and all, MoldyWart would know that lock picking works better than spells in most cases" Harry said lightly. Draco barely nodded in agreement. His wounds, which had gone numb for a while, suddenly flared into agony again as Harry tried to move him away from the wall and over to the Firebolt in the corner.  
  
"Sorry Draco, but I think this will be easier for both of us if I petrify you and steer you around. You won't move as much and your wounds won't break open. Is that ok?" Harry asked, genuinely concerned. He set Draco on the ground next to the Firebolt and picked up his wand.  
  
"Petr- Huh?" A loud tread could be heard running down the hallway. Harry ducked behind Draco in the cloak and hoped that it was Snape coming through the doorway.  
  
"Draco! I - What the FUCK?!?!?" Lucius Malfoy decided to make his grand presence known as he ran into the dungeon room.  
  
"PETRIFICUS TOTALIS!" Harry yelled at Lucius, hitting him square in the back. He fell forward and slammed his face into the stone floor, breaking his nose and several teeth in the process. Harry ran forward, picked up Lucius's wand, and dragged Lucius to the wall. He propped the older man up and locked Lucius's wrists into the manacles previously occupied by Draco.  
  
"Hello Mr. Malfoy, nice to see you again. I've got to go now. Don't worry, I will make sure Draco receives the best healthcare to undo the sick shit you assholes did to him. Really, loser, you tortured your own son. I may not have a father, so I wouldn't know if that is normal or not, but it seems to be a really bad thing to do to someone you supposedly should love and all. Anyway, I have to go, Bye Bye!" Harry chirped, with an evil grin on his face. He had to seriously restrain himself from pounding the crap out of that asshole. _I can't believe he would do something like that to his own flesh and blood._ He thought angrily. _The Dursleys may hate me, and Vernon hits me, and I know they don't feed me, but none of them have ever tried to kill me. It isn't right.  
_  
"Why Potter, I didn't know you cared." Draco had roused himself out of the pain induced stupor, apparently. "Hey, can I see that asshole's wand?" He asked with a semi grin. Harry handed him the wand. Draco muttered a curse, and Harry raised his eyebrows as a scarlet beam shot out of the wand. _That wasn't a curse you learned at Hogwarts,_ he thought to himself. _What would Draco want in return for him to teach me some of that really cool stuff?  
_  
Draco grinned evilly. "We could work out a payment plan" he smirked. Harry was really confused because he knew that he hadn't said the last part out loud. _Is Draco reading my thoughts?_ Draco looked surprised for a minute, and then looked to be deep in concentration. After a minute, he looked expectantly at Harry.  
  
"Did you get that?" Draco asked.  
  
"What?" Harry was very confused.  
  
"I tried to send you a thought. Maybe it goes both ways." Draco looked disappointed for a minute. "It would have been really cool."  
  
"How is having your archrival in your head cool?" Harry demanded. It didn't sound like a good idea to him.  
  
"Oh well," Draco said. "I'd like to see my asshole father get out of those locks now, he said with a genuine smile.  
  
Harry stopped to think for a minute. "Hey Dr-Malfoy. Melt down the locks so they can't pick them like I did."  
  
"Oh please, Potter, like any of them would be smart enough to pick locks." Draco muttered another spell and the locks turned molten for a second. Lucius screamed as the boiling metal touched his bare skin. "Hey, could you petrify me now, it really hurts to move, and using a wand is damn near impossible with this broken hand." Harry hurried over and quickly petrified Draco. He then put him on the broom and covered them both with the invisibility cloak. Harry pointed his wand at the main floor of the house as an idea struck him.  
  
"Hey Malfoy, you haven't unpacked your trunk yet, have you?" Harry got the distinct feeling that Draco was trying to reply no. "Accio Draco's wand, trunk, and cloak!" Draco's wand, trunk, and a black cloak with silver fastenings flew down the stairs. Harry removed the invisibility cloak from Draco and wrapped him first in the soft black fabric. He then shrunk the trunk, and put Draco's wand in his pocket. He rewrapped the invisibility cloak around both of them and took off down the hall on his broom. He stopped outside the potions room and gently opened the door. He saw Snape, engrossed in a potion, and snuck inside. He found a shell labeled "Healing Potions" and grabbed four. Snape looked up and saw the potions disappearing. He grinned to himself and softly spoke.  
  
"Take more than that. He needs as many as he can get."  
  
Three more disappeared. "Thanks" he heard a quiet voice say, close to his ear.  
  
"No, thank you," he responded as soon as he could tell the voice had left. His godson was now safe and would live away from that evil bastard's influence. "Thank you more than you can ever know." Snape turned and got back to work on his potion.  
  
  
  
Back in the dungeon Harry and Draco had just escaped from, a figure removed an invisibility spell and stepped out of the shadows. Lord Voldemort glided over to a still petrified Lucius Malfoy.  
  
"Really, Lucius, beaten by a boy. I think I'll just let you hang there for a while."  
  
As he walked out of the dungeons, he turned to Lucius, still petrified on the wall. "Ready the locating device and rally my Death Eaters when you figure out how to remove yourself from this mess."  
  
"This should be interesting." With an evil chuckle, Voldemort swept upstairs.  
  
  
  
Harry and Draco flew silently throughout the rest of the afternoon and into evening. The first two and a half hours were smooth flying, but as the sun started to set, a storm quickly arose on the horizon. Lightening flashed and nearly caught them twice. Raindrops the size of grapes soaked them to the bone in no time at all. Just when things looked as if they could get no worse, the rain turned to hail. Hailstones the size of softballs pelted them. Bruised and battered from the storm, Harry desperately tried to steer the broom in the right direction and outrun the storm. The way it had suddenly sprung up around them made him think of magic. _Can Voldemort control the weather, too?  
_  
_Yes, that is what he was working on._ Even Draco's mind sounded tired. Wait, Draco's mind! Harry heard him! Harry heard a quiet chuckle run across Draco's thoughts._ I thought telepathy with your worst enemy was a bad idea,_ Draco teased. Harry bit back a retort, but Draco's mental laugh at the rather interesting images of his father sexually entertaining certain carnivorous plants convinced Harry that he had to work on shielding his thoughts. _My father is certainly dumb enough to try,_ Draco sent in response. _Can these hailstones get any bigger? That one almost broke your nose!_

_Just hang on, Draco. We are almost there. With any luck, Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey will be there to help. How many of those potions have you drank already? Five? Have another._ Harry carefully poured another healing potion down Draco's throat and prayed that they would arrive in one piece.  
  
_Wait, did I just call him Draco?  
  
_As Harry steered them through the storm, Draco chuckled softly to himself.  
  
  
  
The sun had set well over an hour ago as Harry guided his broom back into his cramped bedroom. He laid the now completely unconscious Draco on his bed and covered him with a blanket. "This is much worse than I thought" he muttered to himself. "The healing potions have done next to nothing for him." He ran down the stairs to try to contact Dumbledore, and skidded to a stop in the dining room. Dumbledore, Aunt Petunia, and Molly Weaseley were sitting at the table, discussing how best to mount a rescue operation. They looked up in shock as he crash landed on the floor.  
  
"Ummm." Harry was at a complete loss for words as he stared up at the flabbergasted adults. Dumbledore stared at him in astonishment, disappointment plainly written on his face. Aunt Petunia turned white and swayed dangerously in her seat and Molly Weaseley.  
  
"Harry Potter!!!!! WHAT possessed you to do such a STUPID thing?? You could have been KILLED! I-"  
  
"Mrs. Weaseley, Malfoy needs help now! I'm sorry for scaring you, but he is upstairs and he is going to DIE!" Harry turned to Dumbledore. "Is Madam Pomfrey able to come here? She needs to take a look at Dr-Malfoy." None of the adults commented on his near slip. Dumbledore hurried out of the kitchen to get Madam Pomfrey from Hogwarts. Harry thought desperately to himself, _what the hell is happening to me?_ _Why do I even care what happens to him? We hate each other!_ Suddenly, the events of the past day caught up to him. Harry turned an alarming shade of grey and the kitchen spun in crazy circles around him. He vaguely felt someone lift him and gently carry him to the living room sofa. He heard Madam Pomfrey rush out of the fireplace and run upstairs. Dumbledore and Aunt Petunia followed her. Petunia stated quietly that she was a Muggle nurse and wanted to help in any way possible.  
  
Harry lay on the couch, drifting in and out of consciousness. He was soaked to the bone from the rainstorm, and he was soaking the couch from the water dripping off of him. He felt intensely drained, now that the focus driving him was gone. Malfoy was safe, and he was in Madam Pomfrey's care. The danger had passed, and he didn't need to keep going. Harry felt himself returning to the apathy that had ruled his life since Sirius had died. He turned his face into the couch pillows as waves of grief and despair washed over him. Time seemed to have no meaning as he shivered and burrowed further into the couch. As he was commenting to himself how frigging cold the house was, an ear shattering shriek ricocheted off the walls. A telepathic scream reverberated through his skull, sending waves of agony over him. _Oh shit, he thought, DRACO!!!!! I'm COMING!!!!!  
_  
"HARRY!!!" yelled his aunt. "We need you up here!!!!!!!!!"  
  
Harry raced up the stairs, all apathy and dizziness forgotten. He tore into his room, and then skidded to a halt. Draco was naked- and FLOATING???  
  
Draco was completely surrounded by a light blue aura, and he was hovering almost a foot off of Harry's bed. Harry watched in amazement as a tendril of the pale glow wrapped itself around Madam Pomfrey's wand and pulled. The wand tore from her grasp and disappeared with a loud POP.  
  
_HELP ME HARRY!!!! THIS HURTS!!! _Another scream tore through Harry's head leaving him reeling.  
  
"Don't just stand there! DO SOMETHING!" His aunt cried. She was obviously terrified.  
  
_Do something??_ Harry thought desperately. _WHAT can I do?? I have no idea what's happening!  
  
Harry. You can help me. Come here. I can't heal myself alone. I need my-  
_  
The voice flooding his mind seemed different somehow, colder, more distant. _Who is this? Who is talking to me? Harry asked desperately. Where is Draco??? What have you done with him???_  
  
_Harry it IS me, well, this is Draco's subconscious. Draco cannot handle the pain, so I have taken over for the time being. I know what I am doing and I know what you have to do. Please, trust me and walk over to the bed.  
_  
Harry watched fascinated as his feet moved without his control to bring him to the bedside. A pale tendril wrapped around his waist and he leaned forward to grasp Draco's arm. A dark green glow immediately flooded out of Harry's skin, bathing the room in a verdant glow. The two auras mixed and swirled together, then concentrated around Draco's still form. Madam Pomfrey stared in wonder and fear as Draco's numerous superficial cuts and burns scabbed over and then vanished. Harry, as if in a dream, took Draco's shattered hand in his own. Somehow, he could see the bones out of alignment, through the skin. He pushed with his aura, and the bones set, then healed. He heard Madam Pomfrey gasp, but ignored her and concentrated on Draco's other injuries. He ran his hands about a half an inch above Draco's body, concentrating as hard as he could. Every time that he sensed internal damage, he pushed with his aura and healed it. Madam Pomfrey and Petunia watched closely as Draco's broken limbs straightened then healed, his wounds and third degree burns scabbed over and vanished, and his bruises faded without a trace.  
  
Harry left the areas where Draco's skin had been completely removed for last. Already he could feel his energy fading, and he was running on empty. He was starting to feel extremely dizzy, but something in him wouldn't let him quit. With every scrap of energy he could muster, he held one hand over Draco's thigh and the other over his shoulder. He pushed as hard as he could, and emerald beams of light shot out of his hand, along with what looked like bolts of lightening. Static electricity filled the room, and Harry's hair completely stood on end. As he lost consciousness, he could see perfect skin grow where before there had been only a bloody mess. He closed his eyes, exhausted, and gratefully let the darkness take him.  
  
Madam Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore caught Harry as he swayed and fell over. They laid him on the bed next to where Draco had gently descended. The dark green glow was almost nonexistent, showing just how much energy Harry had expended trying to heal Draco. The auras separated and finally were reabsorbed into Harry and Draco's skin.  
  
"Um, what the hell just happened? Does anyone have any ideas? I have never seen anything like that." Petunia stared at her nephew, fear and awe almost visibly radiating from her body.  
  
"I have no idea" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed, "but I am glad it worked!"  
  
"Yes, but at what cost? I will have to research this." Dumbledore trailed off, musing on the implications of such a display of power. He didn't understand, but had a vague recollection of reading about something like this before. However, the book, he was certain, dealt with mythology and the powers of the Gods.... Madam Pomfrey broke him out of his musings.  
  
"Albus, I want to take them to Hogwarts." Madam Pomfrey locked her troubled gaze into Dumbledore's. "We need to keep them under close observation. Neither of us understands what just happened, and two of our brightest students could be lost because of this! I am sure," flashing a quick glance at Petunia, who still stared wonderingly at her nephew "that the Dursleys would not appreciate us keeping vigil in their home. Also, if the boys do need additional healing, though I do not see how that is possible, Hogwarts' hospital wing is much safer than St. Mungo's."  
  
"I agree, Poppy. It is not safe here."  
  
Mrs. Weasley burst through the door, panting. "Death Eaters are here! They must have followed Harry and Draco!" She panted. 


	2. Chapter 2

I guess I forgot the disclaimer on the last chapter. Here it goes. I do not own Harry Potter, or anything of the JK Rowling books, and it is really good that I do not...  
  
Chases Harry and Draco with a pitchfork "Let's see how I could screw up their lives even more that they already are!!!!!"  
  
  
  
Chapter 2  
  
"Poppy, take the boys to Hogwarts immediately! Molly, round up the Dursleys. They are coming with us. Do whatever you have to, in order to get them through the Floo Network." Dumbledore, magical energy crackling out of him like electricity, strode out of the room and down the stairs. They heard the front door slam, and then all was eerily silent.  
  
Petunia glanced at Molly, wry humor sparkling in her eyes. "I wouldn't want to be in those Death Eater-whatzit's shoes right about now." Petunia ran into Dudley's room next door. "Dudley, grab a spare change of clothes and come down stairs. We have to leave! Now!"  
  
"But Mum," Dudley whined. "My favorite show is on..."  
  
"BOY! MOVE!" Petunia roared, sounding dangerously like her husband. Molly and Madame Pomfrey grinned at each other, and then levitated the two boys off the bed and down the stairs. Getting the Dursleys to Hogwarts would not be a problem.  
  
"Geez. I'm coming!" Molly and Madam Pomfrey heard - and felt- Dudley race down the stairs. As soon as he cleared the landing, the entire house shook with a loud BOOM. It felt as if a seven point earthquake had just ripped through Surrey. After about fifteen seconds of shaking, the earth suddenly stopped, and eerie silence prevailed once again.  
  
Within ninety seconds of Molly seeing the first Death Eaters Apparating onto Privet Drive, everyone was ready to go, with the exception of the Headmaster. Apart from that initial BOOM, nothing else had been heard from outside. The adults were beginning to get very worried, and Molly nervously peeked out from between the curtains. She watched, in morbid fascination as Voldemort screamed curses at the wards, only to have the wards rebound those curses onto the Death Eaters. She continued to stare as Vernon Dursley turned an awful shade of purple and start screaming what was obviously obscenities at the most powerful evil wizard in the world, then physically punch his ham sized fist through the wards to slam Voldemort across the face. Dumbledore stood about ten feet behind Dursley, looking alternately amused and annoyed. As she stared, unable to turn her gaze away from the increasingly bizarre and surreal events unfolding outside, Dumbledore turned to her. She saw him stare right at her, then mouth the words "Hogwarts, NOW!" Molly tore her gaze from out the window and rejoined the others in front of the Floo.  
  
"You do NOT want to know what is happening" she announced grimly. She threw a pinch of Floo powder into the fire and Petunia went first, having Flooed once or twice with her sister, Lily.  
  
"Hogwarts School, Professor Dumbledore's Office!" She shouted, then stepped into the fire and disappeared.  
  
Dudley went next. He copied verbatim what his mother said. "Hogwarts School, Professor Dumbledore's Office!" He also disappeared.  
  
  
  
Dumbledore had just run outside when he saw Vernon Dursley confront the Death Eaters. Dursley must have just come home, when those morons appeared, Dumbledore angrily thought to himself. He stopped about ten feet behind Dursley, noticing that Vernon was screaming obscenities at none other than the Dark Lord himself- from within the safety of the wards. Dumbledore let his careful hold on his magic go, shooting crackling energy into a sphere around him His robes began to ripple from the amount of power forced through them. Power slammed through him and formed a protective aura around him, and he could hear the fearful whispers of the Death Eaters behind Voldemort. That's right, boys, this old man can still kick all of your asses without breaking a sweat. It's just your leader that I cannot beat, and for that I have Potter. Dumbledore let a moment's worry permeate his thoughts.I hope Tom hasn't figured out a way to drop the wards, though if he hadn't, why would he be here?  
  
"You FUCKED UP BASTARTD!!!" screamed Vernon Dursley, jerking Dumbledore's full attention to the situation at hand. He watched, fascinated, as Vernon Dursley either displayed extreme courage- or stupidity- probably both, from the looks of it and jabbed a finger at the Dark Lord. "Get the HELL OUT OF MY YARD and GET AWAY FROM MY FAMILY!!!"  
  
"Stupid Muggle! What makes you think your puny threats will have any effect?" Voldemort sneered and raised his wand. "Avada Kedavra!" A sickly green light shot out of Voldemort's wand and sped towards Dursley, then bounced off a previously invisible wall with a flash of sparks. It ricocheted at a crazy angle, and struck a random Death Eater full in the face, killing him or her instantly. Pandemonium shattered Voldemort's ranks as every Death Eater realized simultaneously that standing anywhere NEAR Voldemort was almost certain death. Vernon let out a snarl of rage and slammed his enormous fist through the wards and connected with Voldemort's chin. The blow knocked Voldemort back almost five feet and would have landed on his back if a Death Eater had not broken his fall by inadvertently standing in the way. Voldemort shrugged off the Death Eater and strode back up to the barriers, rage billowing across his face.  
  
Voldemort turned a deep shade of red that gradually turned into a brilliant purple as he turned around to stare at his Death Eaters. "SNAPE!!!" he bellowed, doing a fair imitation of Vernon Dursley. "Why in HELL aren't the wards down?!?!" he pointed his wand at a Death Eater to his far left. His face started turning blue from the effort of screaming so much. "Cruc-"  
  
Dumbledore slammed his hand out. BOOM. The ground shook violently for what seemed an eternity, effectively knocking over the Death Eaters and Voldemort, shutting him up before he could finish the spell. "I think not, Mr. Riddle. You will not harm my staff. Severus," he directed at the Potions Master, "it is time for you to show your true loyalty."  
  
The hooded and masked figure Voldemort had been about to curse picked himself up off the ground and broke rank from the fallen Death Eaters. Severus Snape removed his mask as he strode arrogantly through the wards and stood to the immediate right of Dumbledore. Voldemort's eyes bulged out and he was rendered temporarily speechless from anger.  
  
"TRAITOR!!!" screamed Lucius Malfoy as he strode forward and stopped abruptly, slightly bouncing off of the wards as he stepped too close. "How could you - WHY-"  
  
"Really, Lucius, it isn't like you to be this articulate. Could you explain how you really feel? Let it all out." Snape mocked him, and Lucius Malfoy's face turned the same color as his Lord's. "It's simple, really. I took your advice. You know the one you always give Draco. 'Pick the winning team.' Isn't that always what you tell him? Well, he has chosen the winning team, as have I."  
  
Snape turned and addressed Voldemort. "You fool" he snapped. "You have only the most basic knowledge of potions, and you attempt to instruct ME in what potions react with others. I told you time and again the location potion would render null the other, but you wouldn't listen to me. Even Potter knows more about this than you. Hell, even LONGBOTTOM knows more than you." Snape turned, collected himself, and then turned back. "With the amount of successes your 'master plans' have had, it is a wonder that you haven't managed to kill yourself - again- with your own stupidity. I choose the winning side, because there is no way in Hell you can triumph. Plus, who would WANT to live in a world of your making?"  
  
Voldemort stood there in shock, his face a deep maroon. He seemed to be trying to say something, but he couldn't manage to choke out the words. After about ten seconds of the goldfish effect, opening and closing his mouth, he threw up his hands and attempted to turn around. He never made it, though, because Vernon Dursley had to have the last word.  
  
"Hey, Moldywart!" He turned to Dumbledore. "My freak of a nephew calls him that. I could never figure out why, until I saw his face. Damn! Could that thing be any more disgusting! You know, they have a Muggle procedure to remove those. It involves lasers..." he turned back to Voldemort. "As I was saying, listen, asshole, get out of my yard and take your freaky trash with you. If I find out that you have stolen anything, I'll drag your ass to court and sue you for every pound you're worth!"  
  
"You pathetic worm!" Voldemort at last found his voice. "If you weren't cowering behind those magic wards, I'd-"  
  
Wham! Dursley once again slammed his fist through the wards and into Voldemort's face. This time, Voldemort's nose and cheekbone shattered. Dursley grabbed him by the front of his robes, and slammed his face repeatedly into the magical wards.  
  
"This'll -CRACK- teach you -CRACK- to mess with -CRACK- Muggles!!!!!" -CRACK-  
  
"Vernon Dursley that is enough!" Dumbledore stood, with Snape by his side, right behind the angry Muggle. "We have to go now."  
  
"The HELL!!" yelled Dursley, spoiling for a fight, and angry that his plaything / punching bag had been taken away. "This is MY HOUSE! I'm not going anywhere!!"  
  
Snape sneered at him. "Stupid Muggle. Voldemort may be lacking in a few brain cells, more now, that you have knocked the git unconscious, but he is still one of the most powerful wizards in the world AND WHEN HE COMES TO, HE WILL BE INCREDIBLY PISSED OFF." Dursley turned around and stared and the unconscious Dark Lord.  
  
"He doesn't look so tough. I can take him..." Dursley trailed off as he remembered the curse that should have hit him. If it hadn't had been for the wards....  
  
Dumbledore placed a hand on Dursley's shoulder. "Your wife and son have already gone to Hogwarts. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Which do you prefer? I can guarantee you that you and your family will be protected." That was the wrong thing to say.  
  
"I can take care of my family!" Dursley rushed into the house, reappearing seconds later with a well oiled Winchester hunting rifle. "Let's see how well magic protects against bullets!" He raised the rifle, cocked it, and sighted at the dumbfounded Death Eaters. Snape rolled his eyes at Dumbledore and sighed.  
  
"Petrificus Totalis." Dursley fell forward, shock frozen into his features. "Mobilicus Corpus." Vernon Dursley floated four feet off the ground, shotgun still in hand. With a wave of his hand, Dumbledore sent Dursley gliding to the front door and through it. As they entered into the house, they heard large pops behind them Running home with their tails between their legs. I'm glad I never have to go back there Snape allowed himself to momentarily sag in relief. With any luck, he would never have to set foot in Voldemort's presence again. Dumbledore and Snape stood in front of the fireplace, Durlsey floating behind them. With a wave of his hand, Dumbledore closed and locked the front door. He threw a pinch of Floo powder into the flames. "Hogwarts School!" he commanded, shoving Dursley through. He and Snape followed immediately after.  
  
  
  
Molly and Madam Pomfrey stepped out of the Floo in Dumbledore's office. Dudley and Petunia were just standing there, gaping. Fawkes was sitting on Dudley's outstretched arm, trilling intently. Dudley looked terrified, but Petunia just looked confused.  
  
"Um, mum? What do I do?" Dudley was about to wet himself from fright.  
  
"What's going on, Duddikins? I can't see anything wrong." Molly took charge of the situation, wondering why Petunia couldn't see Fawkes- Of Course! Muggles can't see magical creatures- but then... why can Dudley see Fawkes?  
  
"Molly, a little help?!?" Mrs. Weaseley turned and saw Madam Pomfrey struggling to steer both boys at once. As soon as she pushed one, the other would start to drift in another direction. Molly hurried over and opened the portrait leading directly from Dumbledore's office to the Hospital Wing. The Dursleys just stood there, Petunia still unable to either see or deal with Fawkes. Oh well, Fawkes won't hurt them. They will just have to wait. Molly thought grimly to herself.  
  
"Here. I'll take Harry, and you can worry about Draco." Mrs. Weaseley took control of Draco, and they pushed the boys into Madam Pomfrey's isolation ward. They gently lay the boys on two of the four beds in the ward. Madam Pomfrey walked out of the isolation ward, calling softly over her shoulder "I have to get my spare wand. Young Malfoy better be able to retrieve my other one from wherever he put it..."  
  
..........................  
  
Miles away, in Voldemort's dank and dreary lair, the Death Eaters guide the now revived Dark Lord to his throne. He gratefully sinks down into his chair then shoots straight up. "WHAT THE FUCK????????????" he screams as pink and purple flowers bloom from his now elephant-sized ears. "GET IT OUTTA ME! GET IT OUTTA ME!" he screams over and over, dancing the electric slide in what appears to be a ballerina tutu. After about ten minutes of the Death Eaters playing "rock, paper, scissors" to see who has the GLORIOUS (yeah right!) job of touching Moldywart's ass, Lucius Malfoy is nominated because he has the "most experience in these matters. Tiptoeing cautiously to the now prostrate Dark Lord he puts on a pair of industrial strength rubber gloves. Grimacing in disgust, he pulls what looks to be a long piece of wood from the Dark Lord's rear end.  
  
"What the hell??? Why did he store a wand here- wait, I DON"T wanna KNOW!"  
  
...................................  
  
Back at Hogwarts, Madam Pomfrey reappeared two minutes later with another wand. She carefully set a magical ward around the unconscious boys to alert her if they woke up or had any problems.  
  
"Come on Molly, the Dursleys have probably blown up Albus's office by now" she sighed, dimming the lights. They walked back through the portrait together.  
  
  
  
After they left, a faint glow enveloped the two boys. The beds were pushed together by an invisible force. Draco and Harry reached out at the same time, still asleep, and clasped the other's hand. The boys slept on, both faintly smiling. The glow dimmed and finally went out.  
  
  
  
Mrs. Weaseley and Madam Pomfrey walked back into Dumbledore's office just as a petrified Vernon Dursley floated out of the Floo. "VERNON!!!!!!!" screamed Petunia, concern over her son's mental state temporarily forgotten. She turned a murderous gaze on Dumbledore and Snape, who had just stepped, one after the other, out of the fireplace. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM????" she threw herself on Vernon in hysterics. "WAKE UP! Dudley is insane, keeps squawking about some bird, and we are in magic freaksville central! Now WAKE UP!" she shook her husband roughly.  
  
"Finite Incantium." Vernon collapsed to the floor in a heap. Petunia fell with him. Both turned to stare at Snape, who was suddenly occupied with something on the other side of the room. Neither Vernon nor Petunia could understand why everyone was staring at Dudley. Sure, he was holding his arm out in a weird way, and looked terrified, but, there was nothing on his arm, right?  
  
Dumbledore walked over to Dudley and Fawkes. "Fawkes?" called the Headmaster softly. "What is going on? Can Dudley see you?" Fawkes trilled once, a long, pure, sweet note then casually walked up Dudley's arm to his shoulder. "Oh my, sighed the Headmaster. "We have overlooked you, Dudley. It seems that you can do magic. You are a wizard, though probably not a very powerful one." Dumbledore overlooked the fact that Dudley was turning a fiery red.  
  
Dudley turned to his parents, anger and terror radiating off of him. "Mum, dad, what is going on?" He asked calmly. "What have you been hiding from me?" He turned back to Dumbledore, fury coming off of him in waves. His parents were stricken speechless. Neither of them had any idea what was going on.  
  
Dudley took a deep breath, and his mother cringed. Oh no, she thought dully, another tantrum, and Dumbledore is going to kill him... "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?" Dudley screamed at the headmaster. Dumbledore blinked in surprise. "YOU MEAN I AM GOING TO BE A WORTHLESS FREAK LIKE MY PATHETIC COUSIN????????????? I REFUSE! YOU CAN"T MAKE ME! I- AAARRGH!!!!!!!!" He slammed his hand out at Dumbledore, and felt something push from him, from his hand. All of a sudden, Dumbledore's beard burst into flames. Dudley watched, fascinated as Snape conjured a bucket of water and threw it into Headmaster Dumbledore's face. Dudley heard Fawkes trill, and the six adults in the room turned and stared at him, flabbergasted. Suddenly, he felt extremely light headed.  
  
"Oh shit," said Dudley faintly, as he keeled over into unconsciousness. Fawkes flapped to safety as Dudley fell over with a crash, shaking Hogwarts to its very foundations.  
  
"Well, that was interesting, to say the least", said Snape, matter-of- factly. He handed a towel to the now singed and extremely annoyed Professor Dumbledore.  
  
"Indeed." Dumbledore herded the Dursleys out of his office and down into the Great Hall. "We have much to talk about." He glared at Vernon, as the irate man prepared to go into a tirade. "No more yelling!" He commanded, magic flaring. Vernon closed his mouth quickly. "Poppy, would you please put Dudley in the Hospital Wing with his cousin?" He called over his shoulder to the three left in his office. "Thanks."  
  
"Ok," Madam Pomfrey turned to Mrs. Weaseley. "Could you open the portrait again? I'm going to have my hands full." She levitated the 300 plus pounds of Dudley then sent him through the portrait into the Hospital Wing. "You would think," Madam Pomfrey mused, "that I would have fewer patients during the summer months..."  
  
She guided Dudley into the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey laid Dudley down onto one of the beds, then turned and gasped in surprise when she saw Harry and Draco, asleep and holding hands. How did THAT happen? she thought anxiously,and I didn't feel it? The wards didn't go off!  
  
Professor Snape gasped when he saw his godson. "I don't get it. Where the hell are his injuries? Poppy, what happened to him? Even with the potions, it should have taken him several weeks, if not months to heal..." he trailed off, confused and scared. "Tell me," he demanded to Madam Pomfrey. "What happened to him?"  
  
"Sit down, Severus. This is going to take some explaining. The fact is, we don't know what happened. All we know is that he was horribly injured when Harry brought him back to Privet Drive. I was called to treat him by Albus, and even he was worried. I didn't think Draco would make it. As I started to treat him, he started glowing and levitated off the bed. A force field of some sort was created around him, and I couldn't get near him. When I tried to cast a healing spell, the, the only word I can think of is his aura, took ahold of my wand and banished it. He started moaning, and the only distinguishable word was 'Harry'. He started screaming, and Petunia started yelling for her nephew. The weird thing is that Harry was already through the door and in the room as soon as she started to yell; as if he knew he was needed before we even called him. He walked over to Draco and put his hands on Draco's arm. Harry started glowing, too, and the glow centered on Draco. His superficial cuts vanished. It was like nothing I had ever seen." Severus walked over to his godson, and noticed for the first time that Draco was holding onto Harry's hand for dear life.  
  
"Umm... Poppy, why are they holding hands?" He tried to separate them, and a dark green bolt slammed into his chest, knocking him back. "OW! What the hell?"  
  
"That happened earlier, too, except it was Draco that hit me. His aura is a pale blue. Harry's is the dark green. As I was saying, Harry healed him, Severus, and he used his aura to do it. Draco is completely well. He has no internal injuries or broken bones, and his skin grew whole before my eyes. If you don't believe me, ask Albus. He saw it too, and neither of us have any idea what happened."  
  
Severus sat down on the bed holding Draco. He gently smoothed back the blond hair from his forehead. "What the hell are you?" he asked out loud, not really expecting an answer.  
  
  
  
"Follow me." Dumbledore instructed the Dursleys, leading them down the hall from his office. They stopped in front of a portrait of a unicorn and a griffin. "Funnel cakes." Dumbledore stated quietly, and the portrait opened, leading into a large suite of rooms. He guided them into the living room, saying over his shoulder "These will be your rooms for the duration of your stay. The Great Hall is down the stairs three floors and to your right." He opened the three doors leading off of the living room to reveal two large bedrooms and an extensive bath. "Pick your room, and Dudley can set up in the other room when he awakens. If you wouldn't mind compiling a list of necessary items, I will send an associate to retrieve a week's worth of necessities from your house while we strengthen the wards and find a way to have the wards extend to protect you at all times." Dumbledore left them at that.  
  
Petunia glanced around in awe. The black leather couches, set in front of a roaring fireplace, with red and silver throws were incredibly luxurious, and looked incredibly expensive. How much money does this school get? We don't pay tuition, so how is this stuff affordable? She walked over to the floor-to-ceiling mahogany bookcase that took up an entire wall and saw a wide assortment of Muggle literature, from the classics like Dickens to current romance and horror novels like Nora Roberts and Stephen King.  
  
"Petunia! You have to see this..." Veron's voice trailed off as he stared at the enormous mahogany bed, with Can it be! Silk sheets! OH my GOD! These people are loaded! he sat down on the mattress, and lay back, sinking into the softest bed he had ever felt. "Hey, Pet, you think we were wrong about magic? I mean... look at this...." She shook her head in amazement. "Oh, I wish I could have gone to school here...."  
  
  
  
Dumbledore smiled in grim satisfaction as he listened intently to their conversation.Show them a few perks of being able to transfigure everything and they are sold on magic. Figures. He made a mental note to get that list from them as soon as he could fire chat with them. I wonder how they'll react to seeing my head poke out of their fireplace. he thought with a mental chuckle. Too bad that Creevy kid isn't here with his camera. It would be priceless. Dumbledore continued walking down to the Great Hall.  
  
He entered the Great Hall and sat down in front of the fireplace. "The Dursley's room!" he called softly. Instantly, he could see into their room. He saw Petunia turn, see his head, and scream. PRICELESS! "Sorry, Mrs. Dursley, I was wondering if you had that list ready..." he trailed off, seeming truly apologetic. She nodded, and picked up a piece of paper.  
  
Petunia approached the fireplace. How? "Umm, Professor Dumbledore, how do I hand this to you?"  
  
"Quite simple, my dear." Dumbledore's head disappeared, and his hand reappeared. "Just put it in my hand."  
  
She gingerly put the note into his hand, expecting fully for the paper and her hand to go up in flames. To her astonishment, the fire didn't burn her, but merely tickled.  
  
Dumbledore's face reappeared "Thank you, my dear. Someone will inform you when Dudley awakens." He disappeared from view.  
  
Dumbledore laughed to himself. "The look on her face! Oh my!" Still chuckling, he called Professor Lupin at Grimmauld Place. "Remus!" he called. Instantly the shaggy werewolf's face appeared.  
  
"Yes, Albus? What is it?" Remus turned and looked at something to his left. "Not now, Dung! I'm talking to the Headmaster."  
  
"Actually, this is for both of you. And, before you ask, Harry is fine. He got back in one piece, with Draco Malfoy as well." Remus let out a huge sigh of relief. "However, Death Eaters followed them, and attacked the house on Pirvet Drive. They were counting on the wards failing, which never happened. Vernon Dursley, shall we say, incapacitated Voldemort. He has such a nice right hook-" Remus let out a snort of laughter  
  
"Dursley punched the Dark Lord? How did I miss that?"  
  
"Well, he punched him several times, as well as slammed Voldemort's face against the wards... It was incredible." Dumbledore laughed. "Well, anyway, they can't go back until we figure out how to individually protect them. Voldemort will want to kill Vernon for humiliating him."  
  
Remus sobered up instantly. "What do you need me to do?"  
  
"I would like you and Mundungus to go to the Dursleys and get them whatever is on this list. It will last them for about a week, and if they have to stay longer, we'll deal with that if it happens." Dumbledore handed Remus the letter. Remus accepted it and disappeared. "Oy, Dung!" Dumbledore heard. "Let's go!" Remus reappeared. "Ok, we're off! Bye, Headmaster!"  
  
Dumbledore was about to wish them luck when he heard a great BOOM coming from the Entrance Hall. He got up from kneeling in front of the fire and hurried to the doors, calling upon the wards as he did. He could sense that there were two people standing outside the doors, but, apart from that, he couldn't tell anything about them. He stood in front of the doors and debated opening them. It could be Death Eaters, but Severus would have informed me if Tom had found a way to mask his followers. He stood there, deliberating, when the issue was solved for him. With a mighty crash, the doors sprang open, revealing two hooded and cloaked individuals.  
  
"You'd think those mortals would have some common courtesy to open the door." stated one of the figures to the other. The one that had spoken, a girl, guessed Dumbledore correctly, threw off her cloak to reveal a moderately tall young woman with long, dark brown curls tumbling to her waist. She was dressed in a short black skirt and a blood red tube top with knee high black leather boots. She had multiple piercings, including four in one ear, three in the other, and her tongue. Her companion threw off his cloak to reveal a young man with sandy blond hair about the same age as the woman. He was wearing black fitted pants, a silver button down shirt, and black boots. He had one piercing, his right ear, and it was a silver stud.  
  
"Alanna," chided the young man gently "If you had no idea who was at your door at ten o' clock at night, would you open it?" He hugged her. "Don't worry, we'll find him."  
  
Dumbledore stared at them. "Find who, might I ask?"  
  
"Our brother! Where is he?!" 'Alanna' demanded angrily. "What have you done with him?"  
  
"I haven't the foggiest clue of what you are talking about." Dumbledore shook his head. "Won't you come in? I am sure we can figure this out." The two regally strode into the hall.  
  
"Really, 'Lana, have some manners. The whole ordering mortals around went out with the Dark ages." The young woman hung her head for a moment, then turned impossibly blue eyes up into the young man's dark brown. "Xander, where is he? Why can't we feel him? It was so clear less than two hours ago. Now, nothing!" She turned to Dumbledore. "Please, we know he is here! He was in so much pain, then nothing!"  
  
"She is right, you know. All of our kin have a 'bond' if you will. It alerts us if they are in danger, hurt, or ill. We are the only ones that can successfully treat one of our own. Did someone -gulp- die here?"  
  
Dumbledore shook his head. "Not that I know of, and I would know. I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of this school, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."  
  
"We know that, Sal and Godric were good friends of ours, once upon a time."  
  
"ALANNA! That was privileged information! telling everyone we meet that is really going to be a problem...." 'Xander' trailed off wearily. Dumbledore's eyes were bulging out of their sockets.  
  
"They were FRIENDS of YOURS! But -wait you kept calling me 'mortal'. Who ARE you? What do you want here?" Dumbledore put two and two together rapidly. The boys' strange auras, the way Harry healed Draco. It began to make some sense, in a completely convoluted way. Harry or Draco or both are like these two, whatever they are. They have to be. It is the only explanation.  
  
I think he figured it out, Xander. Do we kill him now, or later. Who is this Harry? The voice sounded very amused. Draco I can understand, our brother's true name is Draconis. But, there is no demigod or demigoddess that would go by 'Harry'. Much too undignified.  
  
"Come with me. You need to see this, and I am not sure how to show you exactly, except through my memories, but Harry must be like you, as well as Draco. DEMI GOD?" Dumbledore yelped in surprise then led them, at a run, through the Hall and up the stairs. They raced to the Hospital wing.  
  
  
  
  
  
Madam Pomfrey had just walked out of the room to get Severus a glass of water when she heard a soft moan. She hurried over to her patients and discovered that Dudley was beginning to stir. He groggily opened his eyes, wincing in pain.  
  
"Do ya mind? The lights are too bright" complained Dudley as he shielded his light sensitive eyes from the glare. Madam Pomfrey dimmed the lights then walked back out of the room. "Wow, he exclaimed softly, "Did all that really happen? Am I going to have to go to school here? Where are my parents?"  
  
"To answer your questions," Severus Snape said dryly, "Yes it all happened, I sincerely hope not, and your parents have been shown to your quarters in the school. Did I leave anything out?"  
  
"You know, you aren't very nice." Dudley created a ball of fire in his open palm. "I could have gotten to like you, seeing how my asinine cousin always complains that you hate him and all. Its always nice to find someone who enjoys making his life miserable as much as I do, but you are just downright nasty." without warning, the fireball sped towards Snape, and he deflected it with a wave of his wand. It hit the wall and dissipated, leaving a scorch mark.  
  
"Shit! What was that for?" Snape demanded.  
  
"Oops, must have slipped..." Dudley turned and stared at the wall. He created several more when he thought Snape wasn't looking then threw them at the Potions Master. This time, he couldn't deflect them all in a wall in time, and his robes caught fire.  
  
"Sonuvabitch!" Snape screeched angrily as he beat the flames out with a pillow. "All right, punk" he announced grimly "this means WAR". Snape formed a fireball of his own. Dudley stared in shock. Oh shit he thought in terror, as the potions master threw the foot wide ball of flames straight at him. He threw up his hands and a wall of flames encircled him, absorbing the ball. Snape blinked in surprise. I didn't know you could do that he thought to himself, and I have been practicing since I was five!  
  
"Hah!" shouted Dudley triumphantly. "Got ya!"  
  
"Not quite, you little twerp! Take that!" Snape threw a fireball that, when he added a cyclone of air to it, turned into an inferno. "Block this!"  
  
"HELP!!!" screamed Dudley. He threw his arms over his head, and surrounded himself in flames. The cyclone slammed into the panicking Dudley, then rebounded and headed straight for Snape. Snape yelped and dodged it, hitting the floor with a thud. He could only stare, horrified, as the cyclone headed straight for Draco. Just as it was about to hit, Draco's aura flared, absorbing the flames. Snape let out a sigh of relief.  
  
"Now knock it off or I'll curse you!" Snape demanded. Dudley replied by lighting his shoes on fire. Snape snarled in rage, summoning a small wave of water to douse the flames.  
  
"That's it!" he slammed his hand out at Dudley. CRACK. In place of Dudley stood a large pig, which immediately began to run around the room. God, I LOVE wandless magic! He backed the terrified pig into a corner of the room, and raised his right hand. Flames swirled around his fingertips. "Who wants a luau?!" He cried and shot a stream of flame at Dudley.  
  
Dumbledore sprinted into the Hospital Wing, and nearly tripped on the squealing pig. He effectively blocked the fire with a quick spell. "What..., never mind. I do NOT want to know..." He stared in surprise at the scorch marks on the walls. "Did we have a fire? Do I even WANT to know?"  
  
Alanna and Xander stood in the doorway, grinning. "Hey, who's the pyro?" Xander asked casually. Madam Pomfrey and Mrs. Weaseley rushed into the Isolation Room, panting. "Whats happening? Where's the fire?" gasped Mrs. Weaseley. She looked around. "Albus, who are these two?"  
  
"Well, from the looks of things, the fire's out, though how it started is going to have a very interesting answer. My name is Alanna, he is Alexander, Xander for short..."Alanna trailed off. She stared at the two boys on the bed, then studied the blond one. Something clicked. "Xander! It's Draconis!"  
  
"Where... oh. He doesn't look hurt." Xander turned to Dumbledore. "Who healed him so quickly? You do have some explaining to do, Dumbledore."  
  
"Is there a way for you to take thoughts directly out of my head, like Legimency?"  
  
"Of course." Alanna grasped Xander's hand then turned to Dumbledore. "Are you ready?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Good, then let us begin." Alanna raised her hand, and a deep purple- blue surrounded it. She gently touched Dumbledore's temple, gently whispering "Don't worry, This won't hurt at all," then closed her eyes. Xander's aura, a bright scarlet, flared around the both of them, and he closed his eyes. Dumbledore stood there for only about three seconds then they released him. "Well, that raises many questions." Alanna stared at Harry in consternation. "How could a mortal harness such power?"  
  
Xander quickly froze Dudley, who had prepared to bolt around the room again. He missed the feral gleam in Snape's eye as he stared hungrily at the pig. Xander asked, in general, "Well, who were his parents? Does anyone know the boy's lineage? That could certainly answer at least some of the questions, and to answer the rest, one only has to look at the boys. Let me guess," he turned and addressed Mrs. Weaseley and Professor Snape, "these two have been at each others throats. They hate each other, but cannot leave each other alone. They are always trying to show the other up, and they don't know exactly why they hate each other, but they just do." Everyone in the room found themselves nodding with the statements. Why did they hate each other, really? It couldn't be for the stupid reason of 'he insulted my friend'. That was just moronic.  
  
"Alanna, they remind me of us, before we found out."  
  
Alanna turned to Xander. "You aren't serious. That's insane. They can't be- No. He's mortal."  
  
"So? He's stronger than most of us immortals. He healed Draconis BY HIMSELF. There is only one bond that can do that. YOU KNOW THIS."  
  
"But, Mother would never allow this to happen. It'll break him."  
  
"Excuse us," Mrs. Weaseley stood in front of them, her hands on her hips. "Could you please clue us mortals in? Some of us are really lost here."  
  
"It's simple, really. They are soul mates."  
  
  
  
A/N!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
To everyone who has reviewed, thank you. I am changing my category, from horror to humor, cuz this story will be funny.... I redid the second chapter, and added some more. I accidentally uploaded the chapter without it being beta'd (my sister is so cool!) as she finally beta'd it about ten minutes ago. She found some mistakes... that all of you have found by now, I bet! She came up with the new part about Voldimort having Pomfrey's wand in an interesting place.... THANK YOU, ANNIE!!!!!!!!!  
  
To starlit night, what was clichéd? I had everyone in stitches over here! Ok, for a horror story, it isn't going to be that great. Lots of bad stuff is going to happen, but when it happens to MoldyWart and his gang of losers, it's just going to be funny! Lets say this will be humor with horror.... I can't think of a better classification for this. Oh, and the stuff will be explained, just cannot be explained by Dumbledore, and the two boys have no frigging clue what is happening to him.  
  
To Kearie- thanks.... Im glad you think it has potential. You know, to think this was just a weird dream I had and had to write it down....  
  
To DK Stories, Nemati, donna, Kairi099, and Icy Panther- thanks for the encouragement, and the third chapter will be up as soon as I write it.... 


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I figured out how to space the different parts of my story. here goes nothing: Oh, and my sis said to tell you that the characters are OOC, but Draco was delirious when he wrote the letter, and Harry hated Dumbledore at the end of the 5th book and blamed him for Sirius's death, so I don't see how they are all that OOC. I mean, how else would Dudley react to being told he could light fires, and once the Dursleys found out how nice living with magic could be (hint hint: transfiguration, money!) I think they could grow to like magic...., oh and here's my sis  
B/N: (beta note) HIYA PEOPLES! WUSSUP? this is annie, the authors lil' sis :) I'VE GOT BETTER GRAMMAR THAN MY coughnineteen-year-oldcough SISTER (though I rarely ever use it).just writing to say...... READ THE DAMN STORY, AND YOU BETTER LIKE IT CAUSE I SLAVED AWAY SOOOOOOO MANY HOURS CORRECTING HER GOD FORSAKEN SPELLING, I FEEL LIKE MY FUCKING ENGLISH TEACHER(shudder)!  
  
A/N: don't worry, she doesn't bite, much....  
B/N: grrrrrrrr...;)  
  
  
  
Chapter 3  
  
"WHAT???????" Everyone, as one voice, let their protest known.  
  
Xander and Alanna blinked, then Alanna told him, in no uncertain terms, "See, even they think it's crazy. Mother isn't stupid. She wouldn't allow her youngest son to suffer like that. Mortals cannot be with immortals."  
  
"You know, from what I got from Dumbledore's mind, Harry is supposed to be the savior of the Wizarding World. Maybe he will be elevated." Xander pressed his point.  
  
"That has never happened before! Didn't Mother swear she would never do that?" Alanna was running out of ammunition quickly, and Xander knew it.  
  
"Wait a minute." Snape interrupted the verbal sibling spat. "What does being soulmates entail? In the mortal world, it means that they are meant to be together forever, and that they are a perfect compliment to each other."  
  
"I'd say the mortal hit it dead on. Wouldn't you agree, sis?"  
  
"That's as good a definition as any." Alanna stepped into lecture mode. "Soul mates are souls that compliment the other perfectly. They mesh in every way. Their power levels, their magic abilities, are perfectly compatible. They are the others equal and antithesis. Good and Evil, Light and Dark, Yin and Yang. It's all there. It is possible for soul mates to not be attracted to each other, though that is extremely rare. It is usually in cases of twins that soul mates are not lovers as well." Snape looked ready to throw up.  
  
"You mean my GODSON is going to be sleeping with POTTER???"  
  
"In all likelihood, yes. If it doesn't happen in this lifetime, then it will happen in the next. Well, if there is going to be a next. Mortals only get one lifetime, but we immortals can go back as many times as we want. It's all part of the perks. That's why I don't think Mother would do that." She turned to Xander. "If Draconis wanted to go back, and his mate is still there, stuck in the afterlife, then how would that work? They can't be together. You know how painful that is, for the bond to sever like that." They both winced in shared memory. "And, as not having an actual body, how would the link re-grow? It takes a physical...um that is probably too much information for the mortals..." Snape turned a distinct shade of green and ran from the room. "Geez, what a homophobe."  
  
"Alanna, you know that the only way to be certain is to provoke it."  
  
"Yes, I know." They linked hands. "Everyone, would you please exit the room, as we cannot be assured of your safety." Everyone beat a hasty retreat to the doorway, then crowded around to watch. "Ready, Xander?"  
  
"As ready as I'll ever be." They walked, hands clasped, to the beds. As one, they flared their auras and reached out, mentally as well as physically to Harry and Draco. As soon as they came within arms reach of the beds, Harry flared, followed by Draco. Their auras lashed out, repelling the demigods. Alanna and Xander stood there, simply gauging the amount of sheer power the two contained. Though they would never admit it, the amount shared between the two soul mates - no doubt about that- was staggering. Alanna called her brother _Draconis, it's me,_ Alanna Xander added his voice _Draconis, we are here to help. Do you require anything we can get you?_ Together, they tried again. _Draconis, please answer us. We only want to help._  
  
_If you want to help, then let him rest. He's had an extremely rough forty-eight hours, and he still needs to recuperate.  
  
Is this Harry? You did a very brave thing for your soul mate. Can we ask you some questions?  
  
Soul mate? Is that what Draco's subconscious was babbling on about? Sure, ask away. I'm here until Draco wakes up. Oh, and he doesn't remember what happened.  
  
He won't remember? Why not?  
  
His subconscious mind took over right before I healed him, and since being in here, I have to agree with it. Draco isn't strong enough to deal with Voldemort and the Death Eaters torturing him. He especially isn't strong enough to deal with his father's betrayal. It just about drove him insane and me with it.  
  
Ok, good enough. First question not related to Draconis: Who were your parents? Second question: Why are you savior of the Wizarding World? Third: Do you know what your bloodline is?  
  
Ok, answer to the first question. My parents were James Potter and Lily Evans. The skinny lady and the fat boy my age are the only living relatives I have, so if you have more questions, ask them. Second question answer. Voldemort tried to kill me when I was an infant. I have no idea why, but the killing curse, the Avada Kedavra, which has never been blocked before, rebounded off of me, leaving me with only a scar on my forehead. It destroyed his body and almost destroyed his spirit. Third answer, I have no idea, but Dumbledore might.  
  
Who is this Voldemort character?  
  
HUH??? You don't know? He has only tried to take over the wizarding world twice now!  
  
Don't get smart with us, young man. Gods don't mess with mortal problems. XANDER, he tortured our brother. That makes it personal! OK ALANNA. We will get involved. Besides, these mortals have no idea how to use their magic.  
  
Do you have any more questions? Even any regarding me and Draco?  
  
Yes, one more. How in the world did you heal Draconis by yourself? We saw his injuries!  
  
Here are my memories of the whole fiasco. Enjoy. I'm going back to sleep.  
  
_ Alanna and Xander quickly absorbed the memories shoved at them right before a mental wall slammed down, cutting them off from Harry's mind. They reeled back from the bed, where the two boys still had their auras on full power. They watched, silently reviewing Harry's version of the events of the last twenty - four hours. Then, they turned to Dumbledore.  
  
"Is Lily Evans the same Evans that sprang from Merlin's line, and by extension, Alanna? Is Potter the same Potter that is heir of all four houses of Hogwarts, and by extension, the only full blooded heir of both Alanna and me? Are these the same people?" Dumbledore stared at them in shock.  
  
"What are you talking about? Harry is the only known heir of Gryffindor, but as to the others, I do not know."  
  
"Well, any heir of Gryffindor is also an heir of Slytherin, as they were soul mates. However, Slytherin had one other heir by a witch, three years previous to meeting Godric. The only Heir of Gryffindor married the oldest of Ravenclaw's daughters. I should know, as I performed the ceremony. Four generations later, the oldest heir of the combined bloodline married Hufflepuff's only heir. Their only daughter married a nonmagical person named Potter. They had four children... need I go on? Are they the same Potters?"  
  
Dumbledore could only shake his head in amazement. He had no idea.  
  
Alanna took a deep breath to continue. "Now, Each of the Founders of Hogwarts was a fullblooded descendent of Xander and I, but through different lives. Godric Gryffindor was first, started by the both of us about 400 years before his birth."  
  
Molly Weaseley finally found her voice. "So Godric Gryffindor was really a demigod?"  
  
"Yes. Each of our full blooded descendents retains their full strength. They have to marry non magical people or their magic doesn't carry on to the next generation. It's hard to explain, but essentially if they had a full blooded person marrying a witch or wizard, the magic completely overpowers the child, and burns itself out. That child, though a squib, can still pass on magical genes to their children, but it will take several generations to surface. Where was I? Oh, yes.  
  
"Our contribution to Rowena Ravenclaw's bloodline came next, during our next incarnation, which was around 280 years before her birth. Helga Hufflepuff came after that, about 130 years before her birth, and Salazar Slytherin was our son.  
  
"On the other side, Merlin was my descendant. About 500 years previous to creating the Founders, Xander and I didn't find each other, by choice. We had heirs and spread magic through the gene pool of the world. The other heir I had at that time was Morgan LeFay, his twin sister." Alanna asked Dumbledore "how much more of this do you want to hear?"  
  
"All of it."  
  
"Merlin married a witch, Nimue, who bore him a son. The son was a squib, and he disowned the tyke when he found out. Oh, I reamed him a new one for that. It was his damn fault. The idiot should have known better, after all I taught him, but no 'blood purity this and blood purity that'. I'll explain the whole blood purity issue when I am done, because it doesn't just apply to our specific descendents. Well, this boy grew up and married a non magical person. It took four generations, but a very powerful witch was born into the family. She, of course, married a wizard, and the whole process started all over again: squibs except for one person every four or five generations until now.  
  
"Harry Potter, because of his full blooded demigod ancestry, can handle the incredible amount of magic flowing through his veins. He was able to absorb the killing curse not because of his mother's sacrifice, though that makes a nice story, but because his natural magic just absorbed the curse. He was too powerful, as an infant, for Voldemort to kill. And, what did you people do? Put a wand in his hand and slowly, are destroying that natural magic." Alanna stopped her tirade sheepishly.  
  
"I really went off on a tangent this time, didn't I?" Xander gently rubbed her back.  
  
"Naw, you stopped yourself just in time, love."  
  
"Good, I was scaring myself again. I-"  
  
"Hey, what's all the yelling about? Can't a guy get some sleep around here?" Everyone turned and stared. Harry Potter was sitting up, rubbing his eyes blearily. Draco sat next to him, also rubbing his eyes.  
  
"Um, I wanted to thank everyone who helped me, even though I don't remember exactly what happened. Har-I mean Potter here has assured me somehow that I will remember what happened when I am ready to." Draco looked extremely confused for a minute, then went back to sleep.  
  
Harry sat for a moment, watching Draco sleep. "I heard everything you guys were talking about. Is it all true?"  
  
Alanna sat down on the end of his bed. "We aren't sure. But, it does make sense. You would almost have to be all of their descendents, and by extension, our descendents, in order for you to be powerful enough to be Draconis's soul mate."  
  
"What's a soul mate?" Harry had several vague ideas, but they came from idly scanning the backs of his Aunt's romance novels before organizing them on the shelves. He hoped it didn't have anything to do with that. That would be too weird.  
  
All of the adults looked incredibly uncomfortable for a minute. "I mean," Harry pressed on, "they can be best friends, right? They don't have to, you know, actually have a relationship?" He watched, fascinated, as his query made the adults in the room look at each other and cringe. _This is fun! I made Dumbledore cringe! Cool! I'm getting him back for letting Sirius die!_ "I have to get up, and use the bathroom. Could you excuse me?" Harry took off, laughing maniacally... in his mind. Xander and Alanna looked at each other and laughed.  
  
"Cute kid. I can see why Mom likes him. He's perfect for Draconis-"  
  
Draco opened his eyes. "Harry? Harry, where are you???" Draco sat up, staring around him wildly. "HARRY? HARRRYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!" His screams reverberated throughout the halls of Hogwarts.  
  
  
  
"Aah, thank God!" Harry walked over to the sink. "What a relief! I was about to burst! Rule one, when rescuing someone, no Big Gulps before you go, and potty break before you leave"  
  
"HAAARRRRRYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He whipped around, and ran to the door. Maybe Death Eaters are in Hogwarts, maybe he's dying... Just as he reached the door, it slammed open into his face, smashing his nose.  
  
"AAAARRRGH! BUCK!" He screamed, blood gushing from his nose. He staggered back against the sink.  
  
"Are you alright?" Severus Snape rushed into the bathroom. "I'm so sorry- oh, it's you. Come on. He's screaming and won't stop." He grabbed Harry by the shoulder and dragged him back into the isolation room.  
  
_Damn it! Can't a guy take a piss without the world needing to be saved? God damn bastard Snape! Fucker broke my nose!_ Harry tried to stem the blood flow. "Dab id!" He shook free from Snape's death grip and walked back into the room.  
  
"Cab sobone bix by node?" Harry sat down next to Draco, who immediately stopped screaming and grabbed his arm. _What is it with Slytherins and death grips? And what the hell is the matter with him? He looks fine to me!  
_  
_For your information, I started to remember what happened to me. I know generally, that I refused the Mark and was tortured. For some reason, you rescued me, and I have no clue what happened after that, just that I could read your mind. So, are you finally able to hear me?_ Draco pouted._ It was incredibly scary to see that your father hates you... Wait, why the hell am I telling YOU all this? I hate you!_ Draco repeated the last bit out loud. "I hate you! So, why the hell am I telling you that I know what happened to me, and that it scared the shit outta me... Great." He threw up his hands. "Now EVERYONE knows. I'm going back to sleep." Draco flopped back down onto his mattress, only to spring back up.  
  
"Is that blood? What the hell happened to you, Potter?" He grimaced in disgust.  
  
"Snabe bwoke by node. Cab sobone bix by node, awweady?" _Geez, will that dork make up his mind already? First he's screaming my name, and now he hates me.... Ooh, that didn't sound right.  
_  
_You sick, sick bastard. I did NOT scream your name.  
  
Yes, you did. Remember, HAAARRRRRYYYYY? That was you. Harry stuck his tongue out at Draco.  
  
Don't put it out there unless you're going to use it.... NO GROSS! THAT'S POTTER!  
  
Draco, you are sick. Fine, if you don't like blood, sleep in my bed._ Draco immediately hopped over into Harry's old bed. Everyone else just looked confused.  
  
"Hey, Scarhead, get over here." Harry leaned over the bed railings. Draco stuck his hand out, and covered Harry's nose with it. "How did you do this? Oh, wait, I think I got it." A blue light shot out his hand and covered Harry's face. After a second, he moved his hand. "Feel any better?"  
  
"Actually, yes." Harry twitched his nose, experimentally. "Hey, thanks." Madam Pomfrey interrupted him.  
  
"I'm glad your nose is fixed, now will one of you tell me why Draco started screaming? Some of us are very confused and would like an explanation." Everyone in the room nodded, except for Alanna, Xander, and the frozen Dudley pig.  
  
"Well I'm not saying it again! If you didn't listen the first time, then tough." Draco rolled over and put his head under the pillow.  
  
Alanna sat down on the edge of Harry's bed. "Draco remembers basically what happened to him. He has the basic knowledge of the events that took place, but he doesn't have the actual memories. Am I right?" Harry nodded, Draco just snorted.  
  
Madam Pomfrey looked at the clock on the wall. "Oh my! It's almost one in the morning! All right, everyone out. My patients need to get some rest." She shooed everyone else out. "Albus, what is a pig doing in here?" Dumbledore looked pained for a moment then grudgingly turned Dudley back into himself.  
  
Dudley blinked, and stood up. "Can someone tell me where my parents are?" Dumbledore grabbed his arm and hauled him off to his quarters.  
  
Mrs. Weaseley stepped back through the open portrait into Dumbledore's office. They could faintly hear "The Burrow!" through the door.  
  
Alanna and Xander stood in the doorway. Madam Pomfrey stood in front of them, arms folded. "Do you two need anything else?" Alanna asked softly.  
  
"Umm, Madam Pomfrey, I did kinda bleed all over the blankets. Can I get another one?"  
  
"There're four beds in there. Just switch beds!"  
  
"Oh." He hopped off the bed and lay down in the one on the other side of Draco. Draco poked his head up.  
  
"Hey, no fair! Get over here! I'm not sleeping in your old bed if I can help it!"  
  
"Well, you're the one that insisted I give my bed to you, without noticing that there are FOUR beds in here. So either move, or don't. See if I care."  
  
"Oh shut up. I can't sleep. I'm so tired, but I can't sleep." Alanna walked over to the boys.  
  
"May I?" she asked Madam Pomfrey.  
  
"What are you going to do?" Madam Pomfrey asked.  
  
"It's kind of an accelerated sleep. It's the same as sleeping for twenty four hours in an eight hour span. I use it all the time."  
  
"Sure, fine."  
  
Alanna stood in between them. "Close your eyes" she commanded. The boys lay down and did as she said. Alanna stretched her hands out over the two beds. A soft, white glow emanated from her fingertips and surrounded the two boys. Xander walked up behind her and put his arms around her waist. The glow increased in intensity. Harry and Draco slowly floated about a foot off the beds, glowing. Alanna retracted her hands and stepped back. "All finished. The glow will disappear in about eight hours, and they'll wake up."  
  
Madam Pomfrey scanned them with her wand. "This is amazing! Their metabolic rate is increased almost three times the normal rate!" They left the isolation room and closed the door.  
  
  
  
Draco opened his eyes slowly. He stared at the ceiling for a minute, confused. _Where're the stars? This isn't my ceiling! Why am I at Hogwarts? Shouldn't I be in the Manor?_ gradually, he remembered what happened last night. _OH shit! Someone please tell me I didn't actually HEAL Potter??  
  
Yup, so sorry. Next time I'll try not to let that asshole break my nose._ Draco turned in surprise. Emerald green met liquid steel. Bastard!  
  
"Good morning to you too, sunshine," said Harry pleasantly. Draco snorted and rolled over. Harry glanced at the clock on the wall. "Oh wow, it's only about 6:30a.m. I don't even wake this early for school," he mused then turned to Draco. "You know, you slept through most of a rather interesting conversation last night." He laughed quietly, and rolled out of bed. "What the hell?" he exclaimed. "When did I ever own black and red silk pajamas?" He stared down at the black silk with red phoenixes in consternation. _Ok, first the clothes that just appeared in my closet, now this... _he trailed off, confused. _What the hell is going on?_ He padded quietly over to the full length mirror in the bathroom. _HEY! I look GOOD in silk!!!!!_ Draco howled with laughter.  
  
Harry swaggered back into the room. Draco shuddered, whether in revulsion or something else... Harry decided not to think about it, sitting back down on his bed. _You better not think along those lines, Potter. Trust me, it's revulsion. _Draco's acidic sarcasm filled his mind. Draco crawled out of bed reluctantly. He was also wearing silk - silver and green dragons. Hey, this is comfortable! He walked into the bathroom. _Oh yeah, who's sexy!!!!!!_ Harry shook with mirth. _Not you, that's for sure!_ he called back.  
  
Draco strode back into the room. _You're just jealous because you don't look this good!_ he teased, -good naturedly??? _What the hell!_ he thought._ I'm actually having a normal conversation with Potter! How the hell did this happen??? We loathe each other!!!_  
  
_That's not true. I never hated you.  
  
WHAA- Excuse me?  
  
I said I never hated you. I - Have - Never - Hated - You. Do you need that in a different language, perhaps?  
  
You could have fooled me! Hey, what happened last night???  
  
If I hated you, I would have ignored you the way I do my cousin. I wouldn't have responded to your insults, and I certainly wouldn't have hexed you last month. Why should I tell you what happened??? You loathe me, you said so yourself. Why would I do something helpful for someone who hates me so much?  
_  
_Ummm, I only loathed you because I thought you hated me._ Harry almost fell off the bed in shock.  
  
_WHAT!!!!!!!_ He screeched mentally, causing Draco to clap his hands to his temples in pain. _Sorry,_ thought Harry sheepishly. _I didn't mean to yell that loud. Did you mean that? So then why the hell have we been fighting?  
  
I thought you hated me. You refused my hand on the train that day, and let the Weasel insult me.  
  
You insulted the first person who had EVER been nice to me, and made fun of the man who rescued me from my abusive family.... Of course I was going to refuse your hand. You were being a total prick. _Harry scowled at the memory. Of course, he hadn't been too nice, himself, but.... Draco had started it, right?  
  
_Huh? Your Muggle losers are abusive? Why don't you just hex them?  
  
I swear, Malfoy, if you tell anyone.... I couldn't hex them. I had no idea I was a wizard, though I did set a boa constrictor on Dudley, and blew up my Aunt Marge...._ Harry trailed off with an evil smirk on his face.  
  
Draco stared, transfixed. Gryffindor's Golden Boy looked positively evil with that smirk on his face. _Damn, he thought, envious, you look more evil than I do!  
  
Thanks, I think....was that even a compliment? Harry shook his head. Come on, I'm hungry. I'll tell you over breakfast._ He walked out of the room. _You coming?  
_  
Draco's stomach rumbled._ Ok, hey- wait for me!  
_  
  
  
Harry and Draco cautiously crept down to the Great Hall. No one else was there. They sat down at the Ravenclaw table, since it was closest to the door. Draco immediately started complaining. "What does it take to get some food around here? Selling your firstborn???"  
  
Harry stood up and stretched. "Come on, I know a way to get to the kitchens." He led Draco through the door behind the staff table and down a staircase. They reached a brightly lit corridor lined with paintings of food. Harry stopped before a picture of a giant fruit bowl, and tickled the pear. The concealed door appeared and Harry opened it and climbed in. Harry casually strolled into the kitchens, Draco one or two steps behind him. _I have to remember that one..._ Draco thought to himself. _That could really come in handy.  
_  
Harry asked one of the house elves if Dobby was there. _You know, I have an idea. When I dragged your ass out of the dungeons, you did some fancy spell work that was most definitely not taught at Hogwarts. I'll trade ya - knowledge for knowledge. I know all the secret entrances and passageways of this castle. You teach me, I'll teach you. Fair?  
_  
Draco was about to reply when Dobby appeared, wearing a pair of plaid flannel boxers, one black sock with stars, and a white sock with moons. The house elf squealed and launched itself at Harry, almost knocking him over. "Oh Master Harry! Dobby is so happy to see you! You are all right! Dobby was so worried when he heard that you had gone to Malfoy Manor to rescue Young Master Malfoy!" He saw Draco standing behind Harry. "Master Draco! You are all right! Dobby was very angry your father would do such a thing!"  
  
"Hello, Dobby. How has working here been?" Harry was amazed. _Draco Malfoy is actually being NICE to a house elf???  
_  
_I'll have you know that Dobby and I were very close. He took care of me from the time I was born until I was eleven and sent here. If I had had my way, he would have come with me.  
  
_ "Wonderful, Master Draco! Master Dumbledore has been so kind! He even pays me! One Galleon a week! And I get Sundays off!"  
  
"Hey, Dobby, would you do something for Potter and me? We were hoping if we could get some breakfast." Draco put on his best pleading expression. "No one else is awake, and we were getting really hungry.... Please?"  
  
"Of course, Master Draco! What would you two like?" Harry and Draco rattled off a list of food. Dobby clapped his hands, and two plates appeared, filled. They sat down and ate, ravenous.  
  
"You know, I have got to do this more often," Draco moaned around a mouthful of scrambled eggs. "This is wonderfully quiet and I don't have to sicken myself watching those two huge oafs eat!"  
  
"Yeah, Ron can't be bothered with table manners. It's disgusting..." _Did I just insult my best friend? Weird!  
_  
"No, you are just finally realizing all the faults Weasel has... I'll make a Slytherin out of you, yet." Draco took a swig of pumpkin juice.  
  
"Don't freak out, but I was supposed to be put in Slytherin. Yech!" Draco spewed his juice all over Harry.  
  
"WHAT????" He choked. "What happened??"  
  
"Gross, Malfoy, just frigging gross. If you must know, I begged the hat not to put me in Slytherin, considering that the only nice people I had ever met had just been Sorted into Gryffindor." Harry grabbed a napkin and started to clean the pumpkin juice off his pajamas. "Uggh! You ruined the top!" He unbuttoned it and took it off in disgust. "Dobby, would you please come here for a minute?" Dobby ran over to them, chattering excitedly.  
  
"Yes, Harry Potter? What is the matter?"  
  
"Malfoy spit his drink all over my top. Is there a way to clean it? I'm afraid it might be ruined." Harry apologetically handed over the silk top.  
  
"No problem, Master Harry! I'll have someone clean this right away! Winky?" Dobby walked off, shouting for Winky.  
  
Harry sat there in his pajama bottoms, slightly shivering. Draco glanced at him, noting the goose bumps that had broken out across his tanned and muscular torso. _Damn,_ thought Draco to himself, _when the hell did he find time to work out?_ Harry snorted. _Did you forget? I can hear your thoughts. Let's put it this way. My relatives believe in a low food diet combined with physical labor. In short, they starve me and make me do all the work around the house. Most of it is outside, in the heat of summer. Thankfully, they didn't get a chance to start in on me too badly this summer, so I haven't lost any weight.  
_  
Draco stared at him. _Merlin! And you just accept this? _He noticed the scars on Harry's arms and understood what they were.  
  
_ Where else can I go? Dumbledore refused to let me stay at the Weaseleys', and I have no other relatives than the Dursleys.   
  
You have millions in your vault! The Potters are as rich as my family! Buy your own house and live there!  
  
What? I have enough in my vault to get me through school, or so Dumbledore says..._ a sneaking suspicion threaded its way through Harry's mind. _Why would he lie to me?  
_  
Draco snorted. _You Gryffindors are so gullible. Why do you trust anyone? Everyone is out for themselves, no one else. I never take anything at face value._ He saw that Harry was so upset, he was about to blow something up, so he quickly changed the subject. _So, what happened last night? What did I miss?  
  
Umm, let's see. To make a long story short, I found out that you are the youngest demigod in existence, Alanna and Xander are your older sister and brother, and I am the descendant of Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Salazar Slytherin, Helga Hufflepuff, and Merlin._ Harry kept a straight face.  
  
_WHAT?_ Draco stared at him incredulously.  
  
_ Which part? Oh, because all of the founders were Alanna and Xander's descendants, and Merlin was Alanna's child with a Muggle, I am a full blooded descendant of the Demigods, whatever that means.  
  
I'm a DEMIGOD???_ Draco fell over in shock. His plate flipped into the air and Draco slammed his hand reflexively up to protect his head. Instantly, the plate, fork, and food stopped in midair. Draco stared at the floating foodstuffs in awe. "Keep talking," he demanded, out loud.  
  
"Are you done?" Harry asked quietly. Draco just stared at him. "With your breakfast?" He prompted, gesturing at the floating plate.  
  
"Oh, yeah." Draco grabbed the plate, and slowly spooned the floating food back onto the plate with his hand. He quickly ate the last of his breakfast. "Let's go."  
  
They walked out of the kitchen. "Thanks, Dobby," they yelled at the same time. They stared at each other in shock, and then laughed.  
  
They walked back to the Hospital Wing in silence. At the entrance, Harry stopped and turned to Draco, confusion warring with determination. "Can we start over?" He stuck out his hand. "Hi, I'm Harry Potter."  
  
Draco stared at the hand, remembering almost six years ago, when the positions had been reversed. I refuse to repeat the same mistake. "I'm Draco Malfoy. Pleased to make your acquaintance."  
  
Harry smiled, relieved. "Friends?" he queried.  
  
"Friends."  
  
They walked back into their room, laughing in relief. Harry sat on his bed. "Man, I wish I had my clothes here."  
  
Draco picked up Harry's black jeans and black long sleeved shirt. "These aren't bad."  
  
"Compared to what I usually wear, they are incredible. I get Dudley's cast offs."  
  
"I'm gonna kill those Muggles..." Draco growled angrily. "How dare they treat anyone like that!"  
  
"Oh, come on. It's not like your home life was any better. Your father tried to kill you!" Draco winced, tears shining in his eyes before he furiously blinked them away.  
  
"I thought my father loved me! He has never treated me badly! That was the first time he has ever done ANYTHING like that! He has always been kind. He gave me anything I wanted. He was always there for me and made sure that I knew he was proud of me! Do you know what he used to tell me, before Voldemort came back?" Draco ignored the tears streaming down his face. "He told me I could do anything I wanted. He encouraged my wanting to be a healer. Even after Voldemort came back, he encouraged me to do well, saying that our side needs all the competent people it can get! I thought he loved me..." Draco trailed off brokenly. He sat, lost in misery, when strong arms wrapped around him. "Thanks Potter." They sat like that for almost a half an hour before Draco pulled away.  
  
"Shotgun shower!" he yelled, dashing to the bathroom. Harry just groaned. Knowing the rumors, I won't see the inside of that bathroom until the second coming...  
  
_Hey! I'll have you know that I take only about twenty minutes in the bathroom, unlike Pansy, who can occupy the bathroom for hours, and it doesn't do a damn bit of good!  
_  
Harry sat on his bed, bored out of his skull. He absently said, to no one in particular, "I want a pair of black leather pants, and some silver chains. A dark green button down shirt might be nice, too." He was visualizing what he REALLY wanted to wear today. In his opinion, it looked really good. He slowly walked over to the closet in the corner, not expecting anything to be in it. He looked inside. Sure enough, it was empty. He turned around. "HOLY HELL!!!" Draco stumbled out of the bathroom, clad only in a towel.  
  
"WHAT? What's wrong???" He gasped. Harry stared in shock at his bed. There, on the blanket, was his outfit, laid out just like he had imagined it.  
  
"That wasn't there when I turned to look in the closet. It just appeared! I wished for it, and it appeared!" Harry babbled on, in shock.  
  
Draco cautiously approached the bed. "Hey, nice threads! Good taste, Potter!" He held up the dark green shimmery material. "Cool! Their's a black and silver dragon on the back!"  
  
He turned to Harry. "Wish one up for me? In silver? And a pair of the boots, the leather pants, and a black tank top. PLEASE???" Draco pouted and begged.  
  
Harry laughed. "You are something else, you know that?" he shook his head at his new friend's antics. "Sure, why not."  
  
"Thanks Potter! I knew being friends with you was a good idea!" Draco walked back into the bathroom and shut the door. Harry snickered.  
  
Harry quickly closed his eyes and imagined up the necessary clothing. He added dark blue Chinese characters with a black shadow running down the left side of the shirt that said Brave Warrior, and imagined a blue phoenix with black and silver detailing on the back. That, complete with silver chains, and the outfit was finished. He opened his eyes, and gasped in pleasure. The outfit was lying on Draco's bed.  
  
Draco came out of the bathroom five minutes later. "All done. See, that didn't take so long." Harry rushed by him into the bathroom, clothes in hand.  
  
Fifteen minutes later, two incredibly well dressed, very hot guys strode out of the Hospital Wing. Harry dressed in his dark green, silver, and black shimmery silk shirt, a black undershirt, and his slightly form- fitting leather pants with chains, and Draco dressed in his silver, dark blue, and black shirt, a black undershirt, and definitely form fitting leather pants. He wore his chains slung around his hips. "Well, Potter, where to?"  
  
Harry thought for a second. "How about the Quidditch pitch?"  
  
"Sounds good to me."  
  
They quickly headed to the Entrance Hall. "Hey, what about our brooms? I don't want to use the school brooms! They only have Comet 260s!" Draco complained as they walked outside.  
  
"Accio Firebolt!" Harry yelled, waving his wand. He thought, _Oh, what the hell, why not?_ "Accio school supplies and school trunk!" He felt something shift in his pocket and stuck his hand in. He pulled out a miniature trunk. "Oh yeah! I forgot!" He handed the trunk to Draco. "I got this from your house before we left yesterday." Draco quickly enlarged the trunk, and opened it. He pulled out a very nice Firebolt.  
  
"My father got this for me a week ago. He said it was only fair for me to challenge you on the same make of broom..." Draco trailed off, close to tears. He shook himself, and regained composure.  
  
Harry turned at the sound of something big shooting through the air. "Hey, it's my broom and my trunk!" he exclaimed, pleasantly surprised as he saw what was coming. "I didn't think it would work!"  
  
Harry deftly caught his Firebolt then levitated the now stationary trunk over to Draco's. Draco held a snitch in his hand. "Hey, Potter, are you up for a game? Seekers only?" He grinned as he released the snitch.  
  
Harry grinned in reply. "You're on!" The two kicked off the ground and flew. After about thirty minutes of friendly competition and banter while searching for the snitch, Harry saw something gold glint out of the corner of his eye. Immediately he dove for it, Draco hot on his trail. He followed the snitch up high into the clouds, where it disappeared from sight.  
  
"What? Potter, where is it?"  
  
"I have no idea! It was just in front of me, then disappeared!"  
  
"You probably lost sight of it..."  
  
No, look! Harry showed him what had happened. Draco looked confused.  
  
"Oh well, let's go back down." They shot towards the earth. Completely synchronized, they flew vertically towards the ground _Wait for it... Wait for it..._ Harry chanted. Six inches from the ground, he yelled "Now!" They pulled up as one; millimeters from the ground, then swooped into the air and flew in a lazy flip. Then, they heard applause from the field. Alanna and Xander stood there, clapping wildly. Alanna held the snitch in her hand.  
  
"We've never seen anyone fly that well!" She gushed.  
  
"Aside from us, that is," Xander added, holding what looked to be a racing broom, but it looked like no broom Harry had ever seen. For starters, it was completely silver on the handle and the bristles were also silver with green tips. Alanna held a gold and red broom of the exact same style. "Like the brooms?" Xander queried, holding his out for inspection. "We designed them ourselves. They achieve speeds of over two hundred fifty miles per hour, and can turn on a hair from that speed without dropping any momentum. They respond to the slightest touch, or sometimes thought, and sometimes before we even decide where to direct them." Alanna smiled and waved her hand. A light blue and silver broom appeared and, right next to it, was a hunter green and silver broom.  
  
"How would you like to try them?" she asked, grinning like a fool. Harry and Draco immediately hopped off their Firebolts and ran over to the two brooms. "Wanna play Quidditch?" she asked, still grinning.  
  
"Hell yes!" They replied as one.  
  
She summoned two beater's bats. She tossed one at Harry, and the other at Xander. "Ok, there will be two chasers on the teams. One will double as a beater, the other as goalie. We play with one bludger and the quaffle. No snitch, since I think the two seekers want to play on the same team." Harry and Draco looked at each other and grinned. They both had the same thought. Those two won't know what hit them. "We clear on the rules? OK, then, let's play."  
  
The four took to the air, and the game was on.  
  
  
  
A/N: WARNING! To everyone who likes Dumbledore, I HATE HIM!!! Actually, I think he is a conniving old coot, and he's gonna get what's coming to him... never piss of a goddess, especially where her siblings are concerned..... hehehehe (maniacal, evil giggling). Thank you all for reviewing, and see ya next chapter. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
  
At exactly ten o'clock, an extremely confused Remus Lupin stepped out of the Floo in Dumbledore's office bearing two suitcases. Less than five seconds later, Ron Weaseley tumbled out of the Floo, followed by an irate Hermione Granger. She was followed by Mrs. Weaseley, who was trying to placate her. Ginny, Fred, and George followed in rapid succession. They chose to remain as quiet as possible, as to incur as little wrath as possible from anyone in the room.  
  
"What do you MEAN we had to wait to see Harry? Why weren't we told about this last night? Why couldn't we be there when he woke up?" Mrs. Weaseley made a shushing noise and tried to pull the angry teenager into her arms. "Don't shush me! I don't appreciate being treated like a child! He's like a brother to me!" She finally allowed herself to be pulled into Mrs. Weaseley's embrace as she started to cry. Ron stood there, helpless, as the girl he had loved for almost two years cried in his mother's arms. Why in hell had Harry gone after Malfoy? It made no sense whatsoever. And then for Harry to risk his life for an enemy by HEALING him with some kind of freaky magic that put him into a coma was just unreal. This whole situation was like something out of that Muggle TV show that his father just loved to watch, The Twilight Zone. Maybe Malfoy had put a spell on Harry. Imperious of some kind, most likely. That made sense.  
  
Ron's musings were interrupted by Remus. "Albus, the strangest thing happened about five minutes before I got here. You know I spent the night at the 'Cauldron, right? Well, I packed Harry's school trunk, like you asked at the bottom of Petunia's list. I had it all ready to go at the Leaky Cauldron before Flooing over here. It was right next to the others, I swear. I turned my back for just a second. When I turned back, it was flying out the window, as if someone were summoning it. I chased it down the street, but it vanished. Harry's broom went with it, too, as well as his cloak. Who summoned it? Harry will be so upset. I"  
  
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "I think, Remus, that Harry already knows where his possessions are. We have had some interesting revelations about our young Mr. Potter in the last twelve hours."  
  
Madam Pomfrey ran through the portrait from the Hospital Wing. "Albus! The boys are missing! I just checked on them and they aren't in their beds!"  
  
"Calm down, Poppy. Alanna and Xander are with them on the Quidditch pitch. They are fine. In fact, they are playing Quidditch."  
  
Remus stared for a second. "Harry summoned his trunk and broom??? How? He thought his stuff was in Surrey! That's too far for something to be summoned! Why would he even attempt it?"  
  
"Like I said, strange things have been happening. Our visitors, Alanna and Xander, will explain everything. Let's go to the pitch. The game should be interesting to watch." Dumbledore led them from his office, eyes twinkling madly.  
  
On the way, they collected the Dursleys and Professor Snape. Snape stared hungrily at Dudley. Images of luaus and pig roasts flashed through his mind. "Here, piggy, piggy!" was heard all the way down the stairs as Dudley whimpered, Mrs. Weaseley laughed, Dumbledore twinkled, Madam Pomfrey looked affronted, and the rest were just confused.  
  
  
  
Harry was easily playing the hardest, and most fun, Quidditch game of his life. Alanna and Xander were an even better team than Fred and George Weaseley, who had been able to anticipate the other's movements with uncanny precision. Alanna and Xander moved as if they were one mind in two bodies. He and Draco weren't doing so badly, themselves. After forty minutes of playing, the score was still tied, zero to zero, though both sides had almost scored numerous times, only to be blocked at the last second by the other team. Xander had to be the best beater Harry had ever seen, and he was sure Xander had played professionally in one of his many lives.... unless they invented the sport, he thought wryly. Draco caught his drift and snickered.  
  
"Alanna!" Draco yelled as she raced towards his and Harry's goal with the quaffle, "Did you and Xander invent Quidditch?"  
  
"Nope," she replied cheerily, as she attempted to get past him. He hung on to her like a pit bull. "But, we played in the first game!"  
  
"Awesome" Harry breathed. Just think the first game ever.... He trailed off as Draco caught the quaffle and passed it to him. He darted away, Xander hot on his heels. _Oh, no you DON'T!_ he thought grimly as Xander slammed the bludger towards him. He threw the quaffle backwards; knowing instinctively that Draco would be there to catch it, then threw himself upwards. His incredible broom responded instantly to the slightest touch. _It's like flying a dream... and I hope I never wake up..._ the bludger instantly changed direction to follow his movement. He continued to climb, then, on a dime, plummeted back down to the earth in a corkscrew dive. He hit the bludger directly at Xander while spiraling, to the observer, out of control. Less than a foot from the ground, and about five feet from Xander's and Alanna's goals, he glided back up, into the path of the falling quaffle. He effortlessly let the quaffle settle in his outstretched hands then flicked it through the hoop. GOOOOAAAALLLL!!!!!!!!!!! He heard a long scream coming from the stands. Distracted, he looked up.  
  
"HARRY POTTER! WHAT IN HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?????" _Oh shit_. Hermione Granger and Mrs. Weaseley were sprinting across the pitch, murder in their eyes. _Draco! HELP!!!!!_ He yelped desperately. Draco was already flying away as fast as he could. "YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!!!! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, PULLING OFF A STUNT LIKE THAT?????" Hermione and Mrs. Weaseley, still screaming in unison, strode to the spot directly underneath him._Yup, next they'll tell me that Moldy Wart won't be able to kill me if I kill myself... not that it mattered when I was slitting my wrists... oh shit, I hope Draco didn't hear that... _"YOU GET DOWN HERE, THIS INSTANT!"_ If you can't reach me, will you go away? If I fly so high I can't hear you, will you give up? You can't make me go down there... _"HARRY! WE MEAN IT!!!" _Nope! Can't hear you, la la la la!_ He flew another fifty feet up, trying to block out the nagging voices beneath him. _I wish they would just leave me alone..._ He spotted the Dursleys in the stands, and almost fell off his broom._ Oh, no, they're here too. Is no place safe from them?  
  
_ _ HARRY! STOP WISHING! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT COULD DO!!!_ Draco screamed, silent panic slamming through Harry's mind.  
  
_Uh oh! I didn't mean it...I think He could still hear yelling from below. Oh, joy. Now Ron has joined the fray. What next, a three ring circus?  
_  
_ It's time to face the music._ Draco cut through his thoughts. _And, yes, I did hear everything you were complaining about, but I already knew about your cutting. I saw the scars, Harry.  
  
Shit.  
  
Don't worry. I understand why you did it, and I am confident that, if you do it again, I will know and can heal you.  
  
I thought you weren't too keen on the idea of healing me... _Harry growled, mock suspiciously. They laughed, and descended together.  
  
As soon as they touched ground, Harry was mobbed by the Weaseleys and Hermione. _Help!_ he sent anxiously to Draco. _Claustrophobic, here!_ Draco chuckled wryly.  
  
_ But, Potter, they're YOUR friends, and they were WORRIED about you,_ he drawled. Potter shot him a look of pure desperation as he panicked. Images of Vernon Dursley beating the stuffing out of Harry, as well as other confusing images, flooded Draco's mind. "Oh hell," he said out loud. "Back up, coming through. MOVE IT!!" he bellowed, causing everyone to fall silent and back up a few steps. "Thank you. Harry, come on." He led the quivering Gryffindor out of the fracas. He turned Harry around as soon as they were at least three feet from everyone else. "Ok, now, one at a time, and slowly." Ron stared, incredulous as his best friend was led away by his worst enemy, who was for some reason, taking care of him.  
  
Remus spoke first. "Harry, where are your trunks? I had them and I was bringing them, and they disappeared." He looked shocked and insulted when Draco started to laugh.  
  
"So sorry, professor, but Harry summoned them. It was hilarious, and your face was priceless...." He trailed off, bent double with laughter. Ron stepped forward, menacingly. _First he's all over Harry, now he's laughing at Professor Lupin. GRRRRRR............  
  
_ "Watch it Ferret. I'm warning you..." Ron clenched his fists.  
  
Draco straightened, all mirth forgotten. Light blue crackles bolted off of his fingertips as he strode angrily towards Ron. He stopped, inches from the other boy. "Watch yourself, Weasel," he hissed.  
  
"Why do you insist on calling each other by those ridiculous names?" Harry stood where Draco had put him, smirking. "It's like saying you two are related... The weasel and the ferret are almost kissing cousins in the rodent family..." He trailed off, amused, as Ron and Draco sprang apart. They turned as one, both incredibly pissed off.  
  
"Potter YOU BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU!!!!!" they screamed as one and charged. Harry let out a loud "Meep" of surprise, then mounted his broom and flew off, laughing.  
  
"Oh HELL no!" Draco grabbed his broom and flew after him. "Get back here, Potter!" Hermione and Ron could hear him calling after Harry as he soared into the air. "I mean it! Get back here!"  
  
They looked at each other in horror and ran to the discarded Firebolts. "Hurry up!" Ron panted. "He's going to kill Harry!" They hastily mounted the brooms and took off after the other two.  
  
  
  
Harry swooped around the top of Gryffindor Tower and landed on the turret. _Oh, the looks on their faces were priceless! Serves them right for always using those stupid insults._ He tried to laugh away the panic he had felt earlier, but it wouldn't stay quiet like it usually did. _Oh shit_, he thought desperately. _This is gonna be bad. Oh shit, oh shit. Please stop..._ He buried his head in his arms and clamped his hands over his eyes, trying to physically force the memories away from him. _Somebody... help.... _The memories poured out of his subconscious, where they had stayed hidden until now.  
  
Loud Christmas Carols playing in the background  
  
Harry could see the party going on from a crack in the cupboard door. It had been going on for hours. Dudley kept receiving presents-a total of forty five, now. Harry knew that more would be coming with the arrival of Aunt Marge. That could guarantee at least another fifteen. In the eight Christmases he had been with the Dursleys, he couldn't remember once receiving a gift or any token of affection, yet Dudley received over fifty for Christmas every year. Harry pressed his face to his cot and wept bitterly. It hurt him deeply, and though he tried to tell himself otherwise, he could feel it. _The human soul can only take so much pain before it withers and gives up_ he thought angrily. He lay there for another hour before the cupboard door was wrenched open. Vernon loomed unsteadily in the doorway. He was obviously drunk.  
  
"Hey, youse freak" he slurred. "youshe better behave yourshe-shelf. I don't want the othersh to know youse exist. So shuchurse frigging trap and shtay that way orse I'll have to ream youse a new one when the frigging room shtops shpinning."  
  
He went to lumber off, but Harry timidly spoke up. "Uncle Vernon," He hoped his uncle was too drunk to think rationally. "I haven't had anything to eat all day. Can I please have some food?" he held his breath, hoping.  
  
"Youse think I'd washte food on a frigging freak like youse?? Get yourshe ass back in that rat holshe, you pashthetic wormshe!" He threw Harry back into the cupboard, slammed the door, and locked it. "Fucking freak." Vernon carefully enunciated. "Little greedy bastard. 'Give me food!' He won't eat for a week for that one." He lumbered off to drink more booze and party harder.  
  
He had been punished horribly for that one. Starved, then, at night,... .Harry was going to continue that train of thought but was sucked into another nightmarish memory.  
  
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Duddikins, happy birthday to you!  
  
Harry watched the festivities from the kitchen where he was stirring the bacon. Dudley sat at the head of the table, with thirty five presents in front of him. Harry hung his head, softly crying to himself. In two weeks it would be his birthday, and no one would know. He would be seven years old, and no one would care. He carefully drained the bacon, and started on the eggs and toast. It was so unfair. Why did they hate him? Why did Uncle Vernon hit him, hurt him, and sometimes, when no one... _DON'T THINK ABOUT THAT!_ he ordered himself sternly. There's nothing you can do about it, anyway.  
  
Harry screamed in pain as his arm came into full contact with the scalding pan. He knocked the bacon off the stove in his haste to shove his arm under the faucet. "MUM!! HARRY'S RUINING MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!" Dudley howled then watched with undisguised glee and hatred as his parents stormed into the kitchen.  
  
"You FREAK! You ruined my precious Duddikin's birthday!" Petunia wrenched Harry away from the sink and pinned him to the refrigerator. She slapped him across the face, raking him with her nails. Blood welled and oozed from four long gashes that covered his face from ear to ear. "You damn pathetic freak!" She slammed his head against the fridge over and over, until Harry was reeling and seeing explosions of light in his vision. Oh, this is going to hurt tomorrow. he thought dully as Vernon took over. The obese man decked him across the face with his ham sized fist then drove a knee into Harry's stomach. Harry dropped to the floor, his vision going grey. He was vaguely aware that someone was making a high pitched whimpering sound, and was mildly surprised to find out it was himself. As he blacked out from the pain, he felt something heavy slam into his stomach to the rhythm of his heart beat. _They're kicking me...._ he thought as the blackness took him into blessed relief.  
  
_Ohhhhh.._ Harry moaned mentally, reliving the pain. He didn't notice the shadow above him, or the strong arms that wrapped around his waist.  
  
_Shhh. I got you. It's ok, Harry. _Draco could feel his pain, and had felt the tail end of what Harry had been reliving. Those damn muggles he spat and gently pushed into Harry's mind. O_H HELL_ he thought desperately as he was swept into Harry's memories.  
  
_I am Harry. I am Harry, Harry Potter. Harry is five. Harry is good. Harry is Harry, not freak or loser or pathetic worm. Harry is Harry.  
_  
Harry huddled under the jungle gym in the school playground. It was the first day of school, and he didn't even know his name until the teacher called it and glared at him when he didn't answer. The other kids had pointed and laughed at him, and had called him names, that mean Dudley who had started it. Dudley had stood up and laughed.  
  
"Look at him the freak. The pa-the-tic loser doesn't even know his own name! "He had laughed then, and everyone else had laughed, too. Only the teacher had frowned. Harry had cowered at his desk, expecting her to yell at him. Instead...  
  
"Dudley Dursley, that is mean! Apologize at once! You do not treat anyone that way, especially your cousin!" the teacher demanded crossly.  
  
"No! MY daddy says that his kind are freaks and my daddy is never wrong!" Dudley stood at his desk, hollering. His face screwed up, and he began to wail. "You are STUPID! My daddy says that all those freaks should DIE!"  
  
_Oh no, he's having a tantrum..._ Harry ducked under his desk to hide.  
  
"Dudley! Go to the Principle's office, right now! You are in big trouble, young man! You do not talk like that!" Dudley gaped like a fish, mouth opening and closing rapidly. The teacher marched him out of the classroom.  
  
That was three hours ago. Three hours without anyone teasing him or calling him names. Three hours without being sent to the cupboard, or his uncle hurting him so badly he cried, until he healed himself when no one was looking. For five year old Harry, those were the best hours of his young life.  
  
A shadow loomed over him. Fearfully, Harry looked up. Dudley stood there, with two other mean looking boys. "Hey, freak."  
  
"I am not a freak. I am Harry!" defiantly, Harry stood up and glared at the three bigger boys. "I am NOT a FREAK!" he screamed angrily, and pushed Dudley when his cousin started to laugh at him.  
  
Amazement that Harry had stood up to him turned to anger. Harry saw that on his face, and started to run. "Hey, guess what?" Dudley asked his new friends. "I just thought of a new game to play. I call it 'Harry Hunting'. Wanna play?" With a laugh, the three boys chased after Harry. They quickly caught him, and slammed him to the ground. Piers, one of Dudley's friends, held Harry down on the ground while Dudley slammed his fists repeatedly into Harry's ribs. The other boy, Anthony, kept a lookout for any grownups. Harry screamed in pain as he felt one of his ribs break, and something inside of him snapped. Dudley yelped in surprise as he was lifted straight off of Harry and thrown into a tree. Piers was lifted as well, and tossed into a neighbor's garden. They gaped at Harry, who had started to glow a dark green color.  
  
Harry felt incredible relief as his broken ribs healed instantly, and all of his cuts and scrapes disappeared. He was floating... _oh no... Uncle Vernon is going to really hurt me now... and I deserve it for doing freak stuff... just like last time when I set the table by making the dishes fly around... _He gently lowered himself to the ground. Dudley and the other boys were nowhere in sight. With a heavy step, he walked back to the Dursleys.  
  
Draco sat there, tears streaming down his face. _Oh my god,_ he kept thinking over and over. _He was just protecting himself, and they hurt him, and he was only five fucking years old! He didn't even know his own name, and- _Harry started to moan.  
  
_OH no, please God no, don't make me relive this I'll do anything anything at all just keep the memories away I don't want to remember make it stop make it stop MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP MAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEIT STOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOP_ Harry chanted in his mind, curling into the fetal position.  
  
_Harry, it's Draco! Let me help you. I can't help unless you let me..._ Draco felt Harry's mind try to push him out. Desperately he fought to stay in.  
  
_NONONONONONONONONONO NOONE CAN SEE NONONONONONO!_ Grimly, Draco held on as he felt them fall into another of Harry's memories. _NOOOOOO! NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!_ Harry howled. _HELP! GET ME OUT OF THIS, MAKE IT STOP  
  
_ Harry sat there on the carpet, amusing himself. _WHEE!!!! This is FUN!!! _he giggled with delight as he spun the pretty red stuff (fire) and the clear wet stuff (water) around the room. "Duddy gets toys, Hawwy gets no toys, so Hawwy makes toys" Harry spoke in a singsong voice. He was only three and a half, and very proud of that half. It was only a week after Christmas, and Dudley had gotten twenty presents. Harry had received none, as usual, and had been confined to his cupboard, but he didn't care about that. All he cared about was that he could make pretty colors fly around the room.  
  
"I wish I could watch TV" Ping! The Television turned on. Harry watched as a man with funny white hair and sparkly clothes (Sigfreid and Roy) drove a big, fuzzy white and black cat through a ring of the pretty red stuff. "WOW! I wanna try!" Harry screwed his face up in concentration as he stared at the TV. "I want the KITTY!" He pointed in frustration at the TV. One of the stones from the hearth floated over to his outstretched hand. It turned into a stone tiger, and it ran around the room. "NICE KITTY!!!" he squealed. A ring of the pretty red stuff appeared in front of the lion, just like on TV! The nice kitty jumped through the hoop, then went swimming in the pool of water that appeared in midair.  
  
Harry stared awestruck as the man with funny white hair put his head in the pretty kitty's mouth. "I want that!" A stone figure of Uncle Vernon formed and walked over to the stone tiger. He put his head in the tiger's mouth, then stepped back, triumphant, in direct imitation of what was happening on TV. "Uncle Vewnon mean... He didn't give Hawwy pwesents. Mean, mean uncle Vewnon..." he pouted. The stone tiger turned to stone Uncle Vernon angrily, licking its chops. Uncle Veronon ran around the room, and the tiger chased him. The stone man hid in between the books on the lowest book shelf, the tiger prowling back and forth. After almost ten minutes of pacing, the tiger gave up and sat down, next to Harry, the thin three year old scratching its head. It purred happily, a low, rumbling sound. Stone Uncle Vernon crept out of his hiding place. "I want pwesents..." Gaily wrapped packages began flying out of the chimeney. "Yay!" Harry stood and clapped his hands. "Kwismas!" The tiger turned and pounced on stone Uncle Vernon, and ripped his head off. "Bad Uncle Vewnon, bad, bad..." he turned and saw the tiger mauling the stone man. He clapped his hands to his face. "Uh oh!"  
  
"BOYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!! WHAT IS GOING ON???? WHRE DID- HOW DID- UUURGH!!!!!" The real Uncle Vernon stormed into the room, and promptly tripped over one of the many wrapped presents. "You LITTLE FREAK!!!!!!!!!" He picked himself up and slammed his fist into Harry's surprised face.  
  
Harry's hands shot up to instinctively protect himself. The fist never made it. A massive tidal wave shot out of Harry's crossed arm and forced Vernon to fly out the window, a torrent of water gushing after him. A sputtering Vernon sprinted back into the house, one thought on his mind. _Kill the FREAK._ Harry ran to his cupboard and shut the door. Vernon ripped the door of its hinges with a roar. He threw himself on Harry and punched him repeatedly. Nothing Harry could do fazed him, not even when he threw a wall of fire at Vernon's face. If anything, it infuriated Vernon beyond reason. "Oh, you little freak, I'm gonna hurt you so bad you won't be able to walk for a month!"  
  
He held Harry by the throat and choked the boy till he was on the verge of unconsciousness, then roughly flipped him over. "Freak, I've wanted to hurt you like this for a long time...." He trailed off as sweat began to bead and drip down his face. He ripped off Harry's pants and covered him with his body. Roughly, he undid his own pants and tried to slam into the tiny child. A thin wail erupted from Harry's mouth as a spike of agony traveled up his spine. "Shit, you're too tight. I-I-I- Their we go..." He forced himself into Harry. Blood streamed out of the abused boy as he screamed and screamed. After several minutes of indescribable hell, The enormous man pulled out and stumbled out of the cupboard and up the stairs. "I'd like to see you magic your way out of that, freak."  
  
Draco sat there, stunned. _Ohmygod ohmygodohmygodohmygod what do I do???_ He tightened his grip on the nearly comatose boy in his lap. Harry stiffened at his touch and tried to crawl away. When that didn't work, he started to whimper softly. "Please don't huwt me, Uncle Vewnon. I pwomise I won't do it again. I pwomise, I pwomise, I pwomise..." He trailed off, quietly sobbing. Gradually, Harry opened his eyes, misery haunting his gaze.  
  
_Harry, it's safe. He will NEVER hurt you like that again. I promise you. _Draco cried, unable to shake the feelings of terror and agony that had assaulted him. It had felt so real, as if it had been him who was r- he couldn't even think the word. "I promise. That bastard will pay for what he did." Harry shot into a sitting position  
  
"Malfoy, you better NEVER tell anyone!" He slammed Draco to the turret. "Promise me THAT!" Desperation snaked its way across Harry's features. They're my only means of protection and if they're gone then Voldemort wins and I don't want anyone's PITY!  
  
_You're the one that told me that I'm a demigod. You have my protection. Voldemort has nothing on my powers, and you are incredibly powerful, yourself. You can protect yourself. Voldemort can't touch you. I promise. You CAN'T go back there. I won't allow it._ He hugged Harry, hard, and refused to let him stiffen and pull away. _I can't help this. I feel responsible for you. It is so strange. I don't want to hurt you or insult you, I just want to help you.  
_  
_Alanna didn't just say you were a demigod_. Harry admitted reluctantly. _She also said I'm the most powerful mortal on the planet, and the full blooded descendant of a demigod on both sides of my family. She also said,_ he blushed and looked away from Draco.  
  
_Come on, what did she say?  
  
_ Harry mumbled out loud. "She said we're soul mates." He scooted as far away from Draco as the other boy would allow.  
  
Draco reeled back. "She said WHAT??" He noticed Harry scooting away from him. "Oh HELL no. You're not going anywhere." He grabbed Harry around the waist and hauled him back until he was on Draco's lap. "You are not going anywhere." He repeated for emphasis.  
  
"What the FUCK are you doing to my best friend????" Draco jumped and Harry whimpered, burrowing into the other boy's chest. Terror clouded Harry's eyes and he started to shake. Ron circled the rooftop. Hermione, Draco saw, was just trying to stay on the calmly drifting Firebolt. _Granger is a worse flyer than Longbottom!_ he chortled to himself. Harry cautiously opened his eyes and stared in confusion as he saw Hermione hang on for dear life. She was upside down, like a sloth. Her hands and knees where white from gripping the handle so tightly. Her eyes were closed, and she appeared to be praying.  
  
"Would you shut up? At the very least, stop yelling. You're scaring him." Draco cradled Harry's body with his own and rubbed his back comfortingly. "It's ok, Harry. That's just Weaseley that's yelling. He's your friend, and he won't hurt you." Draco glared up at Ron. "At least, he better not...." Ron continued to glare at them suspiciously. He turned and hauled Hermione upright on the broom.  
  
_How can you stand to touch me, knowing what he did to me?_ Harry questioned tiredly. He felt so dirty, so used. He scooted off of Draco's lap and hugged his knees to his chest, eyes shut tight.  
  
Draco stared at him, dumbfounded. _What do you mean, I can't stand to to touch you??? He raped YOU, not the other way around. You're the frigging victim, not him. There is nothing wrong with being near you or touching you!_ He continued to rub Harry's back soothingly.  
  
"Wha- What's going on?" Hermione stuttered, confused and upset. "Malfoy, get your hands off of Harry! Harry, what is going on?" She rounded on Ron. "What did you do to them???"  
  
"ME? I didn't do anything!" protested Ron. "I got here and Harry was screaming, and Malfoy was HUGGING him, and then Harry all but crawled into his lap!" He glared at Draco and Harry. "So, Malfoy, what the hell is going on?" Harry opened his eyes and stared dully at Ron. Ron immediately landed on the turret next to him. "Harry, what's going on? I swear, I forgive you for that Weasel crack, especially after Hermione pointed out that you were right..." He mock glared at Hermione, who landed next to him. Well, she fell off the broom onto the turret. _A landing is something you walk away from in one piece, so that was a landing,_ she thought grimly. They reached for Harry's shoulders to hug him, but he flinched and pulled away from them. The looked at each other, hurt and confused.  
  
Draco sneered at them. "You two really are clueless, aren't you? You have no idea what he has been through, and you think his being upset has everything to do with your little spat five minutes ago. Do you have any idea why he hates being touched? Do you even know why he hates loud noises and being yelled at? Do you have any idea how he has been living since Dumbledore oh so kindly dumped him off at his assholes of relatives????" He was visibly shaking with rage. He took a deep breath, and tried to calm down.  
  
"Yes, we know they have starved him, and have nothing to do with him." Hermione admitted. "Why? How do you know?"  
  
"You know NOTHING! The best parts are when they ignore him, because" Draco broke off suddenly. "Shit, I'm not supposed to tell. If you want to know, then you better ask him, later. He doesn't need this right now." He looked down at Harry. _Would you please tell them you are all right? I can't reassure them of anything, and I don't want to.  
_  
Harry shifted and sat cross legged next to Draco. _Do I have to?_ he whined. _Can we just go now? I don't want to have to explain anything, and I don't want them around. They don't understand, and I'm not going to tell them anything. This isn't just something you announce to your friends. Hey guys, guess what? My uncle likes to use me as a sex toy! _he bitterly thought.  
  
_And I'm going to kill him. Actually, I'm going to hold him down, and YOU are going to kill him. Just, please, make up something. They are acting like vultures, first with the circling bit, and now they're trying to pick us dry with questions.  
_  
Harry smiled weakly. The description was apt, he admitted to himself. He looked Ron square in the eye. _Ok, calm, calm, you can pull this off..._ Draco watched, amused, and then amazed, as Harry visibly calmed, and put a believable smile on his face. He looked like the confident Gryffindor.  
  
_ Oh MY GOD! He's as good at that as I am... Who knew that that smile was a mask to rival my icy mask. That smile is completely believable.  
  
Of course it is. How else do you think Child Protective Services were never called on my relatives? If I look happy, then nothing is wrong, right?  
_  
_Well, Granger and Weaseley certainly believe it._ Hermione and Ron visibly relaxed as soon as Harry started to smile." Really, Ron, Hermione, I am all right. No, Draco isn't going to kill me, and we are actually friends now." Ron and Hermione immediately tensed back up again.  
  
"WHAT??" they both exploded. "You mean that you actually get along with that asshole!" Ron snarled, before launching himself at Draco. "Fucking BEST friend STEALER!!!" Draco held out his hand, and Ron froze in mid air.  
  
"Cool!" Draco exclaimed. "Hey, Harry, Alanna's calling us," he stated quietly, his head cocked to one side.  
  
_Ok, let's go. Hey, Draco, did you know your eyes change color when you use your powers without flaring your aura?  
  
Huh, that's interesting. Oh well, another thing to ask our big sis when we get back_.  
  
He and Harry mounted their new brooms and took off. As soon as they had left, Ron landed on the turret with a loud thump. He tried to mount the Firebolt and go after them, but Hermione held him back. "Did you see that? Malfoy's eyes changed color when he did that to you. They swirled light blue and silver. It was creepy."  
  
Ron grimly scowled at the two retreating figures. "They looked like they were talking to each other. Their facial expressions kept changing. But, they weren't talking. What the hell is going on?"  
  
"I don't know, but I don't like it at all. Come on, let's go back." They mounted their brooms and flew back to the Pitch.  
  
  
  
Harry and Draco touched down in the middle of the Quidditch Pitch. Immediately, Remus and Mrs. Weaseley pulled him into a tight embrace. He stiffened slightly, and then relaxed. _Oof. Come on, a little tighter. Let's see how many ribs you can break. _Draco relaxed. Harry wasn't about to have a repeat episode of his panic attack.  
  
"Really, dear, you shouldn't risk yourself like that. I don't know what I'd do if you were hurt. You're like my son." Harry gratefully returned Mrs. Weaseley's hug.  
  
"Thank you, Mrs. Weaseley. You are the only mother I've known." She let out a loud sniff and started to cry quietly.  
  
"Well, Harry James Potter, if I ever catch you doing a stunt like that again, I'm going to have to exercise that role as unofficial mother and ground you!" She laughed through her tears. Harry flushed a deep red, and then started to laugh with her.  
  
"Don't worry, Mrs. Weaseley. Harry was in control of that broom the whole time. I should know, because I can hear his thoughts pretty much constantly. These brooms are incredible," Draco drawled, smiling. Everyone except for Snape, Alanna, and Xander gaped at the smiling Slytherin. "I saw your name on the 1964 Gryffindor Team roster. You won several awards for incredible Beater skill and excellence in flying, if I remember the trophies correctly. I should," he mused, "because I had to polish them so many times." He held out his broom to her. "Would you like to try?"  
  
Ron and Hermione flew to the Pitch just in time to see Ron's mother soar off on Draco's silver and light blue broom. "WHOOO HOOOO!" she yelled, swooping and diving over five hundred feet above ground.  
  
"Wow." Choked Fred to George. "I didn't know mum could fly like that," he whispered to his twin. "She's bloody amazing!" he continued as Mrs. Weaseley pulled the same stunt She had just screamed at Harry for attempting. Ron's eyes bulged out of their sockets.  
  
"MUM!" he yelled. Ginny elbowed him in the gut. "OW! What was that for?" he complained, rubbing his stomach.  
  
"Who do you think taught us? Mum did. She's an excellent flier." Ginny turned and ran over to Harry. She put her best puppy dog sad eyes face. "Please, Harry, could I try? Please? Please?" Harry laughed at her antics.  
  
"Sure, Gin," he smiled and handed her his broom.  
  
"Thanks, Harry!" She grinned, kissed him on the cheek, and flew off, squealing with delight. He watched, bemused, as mother and daughter chased each other through the air, turned flips, and had a blast. _Wow, I wish I had that.  
  
_  
  
After almost ten minutes, Dumbledore called Mrs. Weaseley and Ginny back to the Pitch. As soon as they landed, they both rushed over to Xander. "They're incredible! I've never flown so well in my life! Where did you get them? How are they made? What market are they on?" Alanna held up a hand, and they quieted.  
  
"Hmm, 'Lana, what do you think? How much should we charge for these babies? They seem to be a success," Xander drawled and smirked. Alanna smirked back at him.  
  
Harry elbowed Draco. "I think your drawl and smirk are genetic from the immortal side of your family, though they do it better than you do."  
  
Draco pretended to be insulted. "Hey!" he smirked. "But they've had so long to perfect them. They're, oh, at least several billion years older than I am." Harry laughed.  
  
Dumbledore called for everyone's attention. "I called the Order to meet in a half an hour in the Room of Requirement. We have questions I think Alanna and Xander need to answer, especially who they are and what is going on."  
  
Xander, who had been joking around with Harry and Draco, called over his shoulder, "Come again? I didn't catch that." He and Alanna smirked at each other, and the two boys copied them. Harry and Draco looked so similar it was eerie. Ron, who was watching, shuddered. Alanna and Xander turned around and gave Dumbledore their full attention.  
  
Dumbledore spoke slowly, as if speaking to a mentally disabled five- year-old. "We are having a meeting, and you need to attend. We have questions that you must answer. First, who are you? Second, who is 'mom'? Third, what is going on, and how does the current problem on Earth tie into why you are here? Fourth, what do you have to offer in our war against Voldemort?"_ Because, if it is nothing, then why are we wasting our time with you?  
  
_ The matching smirks vanished. Harry, scandalized, was elbowed into silence by Draco. _Don't say anything! I wanna see what they do! It's about time someone knocked that old bastard off his throne!_ Alanna and Xander stared at Dumbledore incredulously.  
  
"What?" they snarled in unison. "We do not have to tell you ANYTHING, mortal!" Alanna and Xander grasped hands and rose from the ground to hover almost three feet in the air. An incandescent light burst forth from their bodies, and streams of dark blue and scarlet writhed and roiled around them in a sphere. The earth violently shook, forming a huge chasm spanning the length of the entire Quidditch Pitch. A wall of flame erupted from the abyss, as if the fires of hell had arisen to the occasion. Dumbledore staggered back from the inferno, terror evident on his face. The sky darkened, and turned a strange greenish purple. Four class-five tornadoes whipped down to the Pitch, and skipped across the field.  
  
_Oh, wow, I wanna do that. _Draco flared his aura protectively as the earth pitched and rumbled.  
  
_You're a demigod. You CAN!_ Harry also flared his aura, and copying Alanna and Xander, rose from the ground to hover about a foot and a half in the air.  
  
_How're you doing that? _Draco sounded impressed. Harry thought for a moment then sent what he had done directly into Draco's mind. Draco nodded, and joined him in the air.  
  
Lightning flashed, and it started to hail. Xander sent a tornado over the lake, and morphed it into a hurricane. He brought it back, and the Quidditch goals went flying through the air, landing in front of the Weaseleys and Hermione, who were cowering beneath the stands. The Dursleys stayed in the South Stands, where nothing had touched them. In fact, over their heads, the sun was shining and a light breeze had picked up, but that was it. The rest of the stands, however, were shredded. Banners were whipping through the air, no longer attached to the House Walls of the stands.  
  
Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, Remus, and Mrs. Weaseley looked at each other and ran over to where Harry and Draco hovered; safe from the hellish forces the demigods were unleashing in anger.  
  
"Harry, Malfoy, can we come in? We don't want to die out here, and that is a distinct possibility right now." Ginny asked. Harry and Draco smirked at each other and extended their auras to protect the others. The all floated, safe from the mayhem around them.  
  
"Do we have anything to offer?" Xander sarcastically asked the quivering Dumbledore, who lay in the fetal position on the bucking earth.  
  
"Yes, yes!" he gasped.  
  
"Good. Know this, mortal. This is but a fraction of our power." Alanna's voice swelled until it boomed. Harry was certain that the people in Antarctica could hear her, and he'd even go so far as to say the LGM's on Mars. "If we wished, we could tear the earth asunder and form it anew from the ashes." Ginny raised her hand hesitantly. Xander, taking notice of this, turned to her, and sighed.  
  
"She means, little one, that we could destroy this planet (seven times over he thought) and create another one(-hundred). You children have no appreciation for language." Harry and Draco smirked at this. "So," He turned back to the cowering headmaster. " 'old man'" he mocked "are we clear?" Dumbledore nodded quickly.  
  
"Good." Alanna and Xander waved their hands. The sky cleared, and everything was as it was before.  
  
"Now, let's go to that meeting. The foolish mortal is right. We do have much to discuss, and you will need to answer our questions as well." Alanna smirked evilly, and everyone found themselves in the Room of Requirement.  
  
A/N: I'm so sorry I reformatted, but it was getting ridiculous. I had hit chapter five without being able to include the much needed explanations, and that wasn't cool. Seriously, I planned that this stuff in chapter four would have concluded itself by chapter 3, but my writing didn't go according to plan. So, I made 15 page chapters, and made it so the explanation will be all of chapter 5, and then the story will finally get out of the first 48 hours of the story. On a lighter note: COOL! I've converted some anti slash people!!! The thing is all you people out there reading this only for the slash, it ain't gonna happen in this book-I am soooo evil. The sequel, it will. But, not yet. so sorry to disappoint, but I honestly think they would have to at least get to know each other before any thing happens, and five years of hatred is hard to overcome. Plus, they both have serious issues..  
  
B/N: Hellooooooooooo out there, can everyone read this? If not, SUCKS TO BE YOU! Joking, joking, anyway, like the story? You better! No offense meant to her, but my sister has the grammar skills of a fifth-grader, but she denies it totally (and no offense meant to any fifth-graders reading this story)-hey! Wait a minute, if you're in fifth grade you shouldn't even be here! Oh Laura, what have you done? The trauma you have inflicted on the innocent little ones! Oh, what is this world coming to? ( If you're in fifth grade, and you have read all of this chapter, then we are not responsible for your psychological health now. once again, SUCKS TO BE YOU! Enjoy!  
  
A/N: Finally, the long awaited explanations for who the heck Alanna and Xander are, why they are here, and what in hell is going on!!!! This is gonna be long and might be somewhat boring, just to let you know.  
  
Oh, can anyone tell me if they recognize this story? Harry is a vampire, and has a dream of his soul mate, Draco Malfoy. Harry has a tattoo, a red and gold snake, and that's how Draco recognizes him, they do go to Hogwarts, Harry turns Draco, and they go to the Vampire Underworld in London. Harry's vamp friend shows them a painting of his soul mate, its Severus Snape.. Please tell me if you recognize it and if you know the title! I'm going crazy not knowing!  
  



	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Finally, the long awaited explanations for who the heck Alanna and Xander are, why they are here, and what in hell is going on!!!! This is gonna be long and might be somewhat boring, just to let you know.  
  
Oh, can anyone tell me if they recognize this story? Harry is a vampire, and has a dream of his soul mate, Draco Malfoy. Harry has a tattoo, a red and gold snake, and that's how Draco recognizes him, they do go to Hogwarts, Harry turns Draco, and they go to the Vampire Underworld in London. Harry's vamp friend shows them a painting of his soulmate, its Severus Snape.... Please tell me if you recognize it and if you know the title! I'm going crazy not knowing!  
  
  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Harry and Draco released the Weaseleys, Remus, and Hermione from their auras, and the auras gradually disappeared. Harry, bored, sat upside down on the ceiling and stared at the Dursleys as they tripped all over themselves trying to figure out what happened.  
  
"Hey, sis!" Draco strolled over to Alanna, barely concealing his excitement behind a mask of indifference. "You are my sister, right? That's what Harry said, along with some other interesting information." He looked at her expectantly, and she nodded in affirmation. "So it's all true, then? How did you do all that, and can I learn?" Dumbledore perked up, and twinkled deviously.  
  
Alanna was about to answer, when the first of the Order members strolled into the room. "I'll tell you everything, later. I promise." She walked quietly up to Dumbledore, who was talking animatedly with four witches, Professor Snape, and two other wizards.  
  
"I tell you, it would be a great idea!" Dumbledore exclaimed quietly. Professor Snape nodded his agreement. Alanna filed the strange comment away for future use, and interrupted them with a smile.  
  
"You do know that if this Voldemort character were to attack right now, the entire resistance would be wiped out, right?" she queried, concerned.  
  
"Voldemort is not strong enough to breach Hogwarts' wards. We are safe." Dumbledore assured her.  
  
"Um, Professor Dumbledore, what about first year when Professor Quirrell shared his body with Voldemort, and he got through the wards? Or, what about second year, when Tom Riddle came through in the diary? He made Ginny open the Chamber of Secrets and used her life force to regain a physical body. She almost died. How about third year, when" _Sirius oh GOD Sirius, I'm so sorry_, "came through the wards, and he wasn't supposed to be able to." Harry finished his recollection, grinning sardonically. "Voldemort can get into this school and so can his followers."  
  
"Is this true?" demanded Alanna. Dumbledore nodded. "I thought so. Xander, we need- Xander! Xander! ALEXANDER!"  
  
Xander whipped around. "But mom, what did I do?" He saw Alanna glaring daggers at him. "Alanna! Don't scare me like that. You know only Mom calls me that, and only when she's pissed."  
  
"They have cruddy wards. We have to strengthen them."  
  
"Fine, fine. Let's do this." They clasped hands, and the same incandescent light from before sprang to life around them. Everyone tensed and wondered _What the hell?._ A huge shockwave ran through the entire building and over the grounds. No one noticed Harry's eyes swirl a strange, luminous silver and green, or the spark of power that left his fingertips to travel with the shockwave. A loud, agonized scream cut through the air. Everyone rushed to the windows and anxiously looked down. A black robed figure lay still on the lawn.  
  
"Got one! Stupid buggers!" Alanna cheered.  
  
"Hagrid, Remus, go find out who that is, or was, for that matter." Dumbledore quietly ordered. The two nodded and left the room. Harry smirked evilly from the ceiling. He knew who it was, and Alanna and Xander hadn't killed her. He had. Bellatrix Lestrange was no longer among the living. Alanna glanced up at him, and gave a small grin. He grinned back.  
  
_So, newest brother, how do you like your powers? _she asked him, laughing.  
  
_They are definitely the coolest._ Harry cheekily replied. He stretched lazily. Oh yes, he could finally stop hiding his true abilities. _Soul mate to a demigod..._ he mused quietly._ Enough power to destroy a solar system... and I'm stuck at Hogwarts with the bastard that allowed my godfather to die. At least the bitch who killed him is dead. _Draco listened intently to Harry's internal monologue. It was really disturbing.  
  
_HARRY! What in HELL do you think you are doing? You just killed someone! That's wrong! I can't believe you!  
  
Draco, she wants me dead, and she killed Sirius.  
  
Oh. Who was it?  
  
Bellatrix Lestrange. She tortured you, too.  
  
Oh, in that case... good going. You know, this whole memory gap thing is driving me crazy. I wish I could remember! But, you're the Boy Who Fucking Lived. You can't go around killing people. It's wrong.  
  
I have no qualms about killing others, Draco. I did before Cedric and Sirius were murdered right before my eyes, but those little events changed me. They died right in front of me, and I couldn't do anything about it. If I had been a little faster, known a little more, then they wouldn't have died. Now, I can only make sure that those evil idiots will never kill another person again. It sucks, Draco. I am going to be revered for killing Voldemort and his Death Eaters. I might as well get started now, and make my job a little easier by picking them off one by one, instead of facing them all in battle._ Draco just stared at him.  
  
_That has got to be the most callous thing I've ever heard you say, but in a strange way, it makes sense. I-  
  
_ Remus and Hagrid ran back into the room, looking oddly triumphant. "Bellatrix Lestrange was lying there, dead." Remus reported. Hagrid nodded his agreement. Dumbledore let out a sigh of relief.  
  
"Well, that is certainly good news. Harry, my dear boy, did you hear? Your godfather's murderer is dead!"  
  
_Yeah, but his other one is standing right in front of me... and I am responsible for Surius's death, too._ "That's wonderful, Professor!" Harry grinned at Alanna. "Thanks, sis!" Dumbledore stared at the two of them curiously.  
  
"I thought that Draco was the demigod, not Harry." His voice held a slightly accusing tone.  
  
"Tell you what, Dumbledore, we'll get started on answering your questions, and then you answer ours, ok?" Alanna purred. Dumbledore nodded.  
  
"Good, is everyone here?"  
  
"Yes, please begin. I call this meeting to order!" Dumbledore raised his voice to be heard over the din. Everyone took a seat except for Dumbledore, Alanna, and Xander. Draco joined Harry on the ceiling, and Harry brought Ginny and the twins up there as well.  
  
"This is so cool!" Ginny exclaimed, and her mother shushed her. She fell quiet.  
  
"First," Alanna began, "My name is Alanna, and this is my soul mate Xander. We are the demigods in charge of this planet. Mom, as some of you can therefore infer, is God, our parent and creator. She created this universe, and each of us gets an area to play with. We created this planet and everything on it, as well as this solar system and several others. Any questions so far?"  
  
"You said that each of you get a part of the universe? How many of you are their?" Professor Snape queried.  
  
"There are thirteen first generation demigods and demigoddesses. They are, in order, Clautius, Xander, me, Gaila, Raphael, Olivia, Michael, Gabrielle, Rowen, Damien, Nicholai, Laurel, and Draconis, who is known here as Draco Malfoy. We are brothers and sisters, and each of us except for Clautius has a soul mate."  
  
"Are the soul mates all demigods?" Remus asked quietly.  
  
"Not entirely, though they all have the ability to become demigods if they choose. Harry Potter here is Draconis's soul mate, and Laurel's soul mate is also in this room. Severus Snape is a powerful enough mortal to be considered for demigod status, as well as being Laurel's soul mate. He is, after all, a direct descendant of all four founders of this school." Dumbledore stared at his prized student and Potions Professor with a calculating gleam in his eye.  
  
Professor Snape fell over with a crash, unconscious. Dumbledore quickly roused him. "This brings me to the next part. Their are ten, second generation demigods, or will be when Mr. Potter and Mr. Snape bond with their soulmates. Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Severus Snape, James Potter, and Lily Evans are of mine and Xander's lineage. Harry Potter is a full blooded demigod because of his parents both being demigods. There are four others that Clautius created. Their names are Lucifer, Baal, Beelzebub, and Adrian."  
  
"Any other questions?" Xander asked the stunned crowd. Alanna continued.  
  
Harry asked, from the ceiling,"What do you mean, bond???" He looked slightly sick and very upset. Draco held him as visions of his abuse at Uncle Vernon's hands flashed through his mind. _We'd better not be expected to have a relationship, Draco. NO ONE is EVER touching me like that AGAIN!  
_  
"How about we discuss that aspect later, when we can have a private conversation." Professor Snape looked distinctly green, and was about to have a repeat performance of when he found out Harry was Draco's soulmate.  
  
"I need to know some things before I can go on with the story. First, Harry, who is Voldemort? What are his goals, and why does he keep trying to kill you?"  
  
Harry answered from the ceiling. "Voldemort is a madman. He has tried to take over the Wizarding World twice now, and he wants to kill all the Muggles. He is preaching blood purity for Wizarding kind, and hates all Muggleborns. He wants immortality and a world with only magic. He keeps trying to kill me because of some stupid prophesy." Dumbledore tried to interrupt, and Xander froze him with a wave of his hand. "Either I kill him, or he kills me. I have to kill him, or I die. Their is no way around this, and that's what this all boils down to, he has to kill me, before I reach my full powers and kill him." Alanna nodded, her face dark with rage. The rest of the Order, stunned that something of this magnitude had been kept from them, tried to pepper Harry with questions.  
  
Alanna quieted them with a wave of her hand. "Ask him later, please." She released Dumbledore, and he sat down, all twinkle in his eyes gone. He stared at Harry, accusation and disappointment in his eyes. Harry stared back, then looked away, seemingly abashed. Dumbledore nodded and looked away, the twinkle resuming in his eyes once more.  
  
Draco rocked with silent laughter. _He really still thinks that you believe your well being revolves around his moods? When is he going to realize that you are your own person and so much more powerful than he?  
  
Hopefully, never. That way, I can still manipulate the bastatrd._ Harry and Draco shared a look, then rolled across the ceiling, laughing.  
  
"I can continue now. That clears up a lot of the mystery." Draco hugged Harry, hard. _He's not going to kill you. _They started to wrestle. "Ok, will you two please behave up there?" Harry and Draco laughed.  
  
"You're my sister, not my mother!" he called back.  
  
"Do you really want me to get Mom involved in this?" Draco shook his head and sat still.  
  
"Ok. Let's see. The best place to start is the beginning. Clautius was the first of us created, before the universe existed. Imagine ultimate power, and no one to share it with. That was Mom's situation. She created Clautius as her equal and antithesis. Mother is all good, all love. Clautius, at the time of his creation, was not all evil, but that is what he became. She liked the idea of having 'children' if you will, that she created others. Clautius is God's soul mate. Each of us was created as part of a pair. Xander and I are one pair, and the next created, simultaneously. We were created at the start of the universe, thirty-two billion years ago. Gaila and Raphael were next, a little under twenty-five billion years ago. Damien and Nicholai were created nineteen billion years ago, Olivia and Michael were created eleven billion years ago, and Rowen and Gabrielle were created five billion years ago.  
  
"During this time, Clautius began to change, to grow into his role of God's opposite. With Good, their has to be evil. Clautius began to mass armies, and create his own heirs. Lucifer came first. You may recognize him, as he is the ruler of Clautius's demon world, named Hell. Beelzebub was next, and is the lord of his demon horde. There are hundreds of billions of demons in existence. Baal was next, and was dubbed Lord of the Shadows. He has his own planet, where Clautius sends the souls he has kidnapped. Adrian was his youngest child, and the only one who did not take demonic form. He is also the most powerful of the four, and can completely mask his magical energy when taking human form.  
  
"We kept to ourselves, mostly, and didn't bother each other. That changed about one hundred million years ago. Clautius began to move against us, trying to gradually take over our territories. We have been battling him ever since, since his territory lies adjacent to ours. It has gotten to the point where we need help. Our siblings are coming to join the war in mortal form, we just don't know who they are. That is why we came looking for Draconis. We thought that Clautius had gotten a hold of him, and was torturing him."  
  
Draco laughed quietly. "Oh, I was being tortured, all right, just not by him."  
  
"Twenty thousand years ago, humans evolved on this planet, under our care and supervision. Yes, before you ask, there is life on other planets. We have, in our seven solar systems, twelve planets capable of sustaining life, and of the twelve, five are inhabited. Two others have colonies on them from one of the five civilizations. On this planet, we indulged in an experiment. Since this is the planet on the outskirts of our territory, and borders Clautius's realm, this planet is in dispute. We created this place, and we are fighting for it. As a means of massing our own armies, we seeded this planet with magic. No, we do not expect you to fight for us. However, it appears, if my suspicions are correct, you already are.  
  
"Voldemort has the same goals as Clautius, and spews the same nonsense as Clautius. Blood purity is a joke. We should know, because we gave you mortals magic, as well as created the Veela, Elves, Vampires, Phoenixes, Thestrals, Unicorns, Dragons, and Faeries. Human folly and invention are responsible for Werewolves, Giants, Centaurs, and all other so called magical creatures. Clautius tries to get mortals to agree with his idea for 'blood purity' because it will burn out all the magic in this world, therefore making it easier to take over and subvert. He has found several followers willing to listen to his lies, the most recent being Grissenwauld and now, from the looks of it, Voldemort. Though, he seems to pick the worst followers. They're a nasty bunch of people.  
  
"We started seeding the planet ten thousand years ago, in Mesopotamia. We came to earth in human form, and had children with mortals. We had only one child a generation so that humans would not become too magically saturated too quickly." Hermione interrupted.  
  
"What is magical saturation?" she asked, confused. Several order members nodded.  
  
"Sorry about that. Magical saturation is the amount of magical power in an individual. Full blooded is a demigod or demigoddess, and half blooded is what we call the child of a mortal and demigod. They are the strongest possible human mortals." She took a breath and continued.  
  
"Their children had a little less than half, and so on. The thing, that is so important, is that human mortals cannot handle more than half of our powers. Otherwise, they burn out their powers, becoming what you call squibs. That happens when two incredibly powerful witches and wizards have children, or a demigod has children with a mortal witch or wizard, as Merlin found out. More often than not, one or two children will be just as powerful and the others will be squibs.  
  
"That went through the migrations of civilizations, until three thousand, four hundred years ago. I was born, quite willingly, into the ruling class of the Celtic people at that time. I was kidnapped by Clautius, and" she broke off, unable to continue.  
  
"Love, let me tell this part." Xander hugged her close. "It never gets any easier, does it?"  
  
"No" she whispered and disappeared.  
  
"Right, where was she? Oh yes. She was ruling her people when Clautius, and his people, the Angles, invaded Great Britain and Ireland. Alanna was taken captive and brought to his realm. Clautius had discovered a way to make himself immortal in the physical world and had also discovered a way to make himself even more powerful. In our realm, the spiritual realm, we can mix magical energies completely with out soul mates, we dubbed this the Sharing. He found a way to completely pervert this and, using his magical energy, take the magical energy of another immortal. That is why he kidnapped Alanna. He raped and tortured her for over a millennium, keeping her alive with magic, stealing her powers and leaving her helpless for his demons. I spent the entire millennia trying to rescue her. I could feel her pain through our bond and it was indescribable." He remained silent for several seconds, eyes closed, remembering. Harry started to cry softly, and disappeared. He reappeared a few seconds later, extremely troubled, but no longer crying.  
  
"Exactly one thousand, one hundred, forty-five years after her capture, she managed to escape, using the same methods on him that he had used to imprison her. She came to me, and killed herself in front of me. I followed her, and we were reborn. This next time, someone overheard me talking about loving your neighbor, and the Catholic Church was born. I was put to death on a cross for insurrection, and she went on a killing rampage. She sacked Jerusalem and made it look like the Romans did it, then seeded the aqueducts with arsenic. I heard that it drove the Romans insane and destroyed their empire. Oh well, no great loss there. They had some really stupid ideas anyway. We continued to seed the planet with our offspring. Several notable people including the four founders of Hogwarts and Merlin were either our children or direct descendants.  
  
"Merlin was Alanna's descendant with what she thought was a mortal. In reality, it was Adrian, who had disguised himself as a mortal. Adrian tried to turn her over to Clautius, but we killed him and sent him back to his father's realm. Merlin married a very powerful witch, Nimue, and they had a son named Daniel. Daniel was a squib, and Merlin disowned him. He married a Muggle girl, and they had squib children. Three generations later, a very powerful witch, with the full powers of a demigoddess, was born. She married a wizard, and the cycle repeated itself.  
  
"Four generations later, another witch was born. However, that witch had two daughters, both squibs. One was the great great great great grandmother of Lily and Petunia Evans, and the other was the great great great great great grandmother of Hermione Granger. Lily inherited the full powers of a demigoddess, and accepted immortality along with her soul mate, James Potter. Petunia's son and Miss Granger both inherited exactly half of the powers, making both of them some of the strongest mortals around. For some reason, Dudley has locked away his powers inside of himself, which can happen only under an incredibly strong memory charm, or a very traumatic experience."  
  
Everyone in the room stared at Dudley, who sat there, mouth open in shock. His parents edged away from him fearfully. "Um, how do I go about unlocking these powers?" he asked.  
  
Veron sneered. "You worthless freak!" he hissed. "To think we have loved you and this is how you repay us? By being an abomination?" Harry lashed out with his mind, and Vernon fell over with a loud crash. Petunia jumped. Dudley stared at them, tears running down his face.  
  
"You will have to remember what happened to you, and your powers will unlock. That is, if you want to. However, your children will have magic, unless you marry a witch. Judging your disposition towards magic, that will not happen. You will treat your children better than you have treated your cousin, and better than your parents have treated Harry, or there will be hell to pay." Alanna said, quietly. Everyone jumped, not having noticed her return. "Do you want to continue, or should I?"  
  
"I've got it for now. Clautius started to make his attack on our territory more widespread, and there was talk of him grooming a champion of Evil. We decided to make a champion for Good, a mortal with the powers of at the least a demigod. We planned to have four heirs that would eventually produce one line. We got two lines, instead. We deliberately incarnated ourselves on earth, and had a full blooded demigod heir, Nathanial Gryffindor. He married a mortal Muggle, and they had a full blooded son, Marcus. Marcus was the grandfather of Godric Gryffindor. We timed it just right, and went back in time after we died to be born again around the same time Nathanial was born. We produced another line, the Ravenclaw line. We are Rowena Ravenclaw's great grandparents. We did the same for Helga Hufflepuff, except we are her grandparents. Salazar Slytherin was our son.  
  
"Salazar Slytherin produced an Heir before he met his soul mate, Godric Gryffindor. Rowena and Helga's soul mates were Muggle men, and they chose to remain mortal with them. Sal and Godric produced an heir, a son, who married Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter. Their only daughter married Helga Hufflepuff's only Heir, her grandson. This is where the branch occurs. Gareth and Devina Hufflepuff had four daughters. Two were demigoddesses, two were squibs. The two demigoddesses each married Muggle men, Fredrick Potter and William Snape. The two squibs married wizards and produced heirs as well. They eventually formed or married into the Malfoys, Weaseleys, McKnights, and other clans. So, Severus Snape is our descendant, and a full blooded demigod. Harry Potter is the same."  
  
"Any questions?" The entire room stared at him, shocked speechless. Draco piped up from the ceiling. "So, where do I come in?"  
  
"Laurel was created almost thirty-eight years ago, and you were created on the eve of your conception. Mother decided that she didn't want one of the oldest magic lines on our planet to die out. The magic had been bred from your line, Draco. Your parents were too powerful, and your body, as a mortal, could not handle the amount of magic in you. You would have been a squib or, worse, miscarried. Why else do you think your mother couldn't have any more children?" Alanna answered quietly. "How else do you think a demigod was able to be placed in a wizard's body? You wouldn't have had any magical abilities, and you wouldn't have been able to pass on any magical ability to your descendants. That's what happens when the wizards and witches don't intermarry and diversify with Muggles. Clautius wins, and magic disappears."  
  
"Why would it matter whether or not Draco's line still had magic in it for a demigod to be born into the line?" Snape asked.  
  
"We can only put ourselves into completely nonmagical bodies. If there is already magic there, the physical form pretty much explodes with the power overload. It isn't very pretty, and we did it once, in the very beginning. Needless to say, that was a short incarnation." Alanna laughed at the memory.  
  
"You mentioned that putting a wand in Mister Potter's hand destroyed what natural magic he had. What did you mean?" Snape queried  
  
"No one needs a wand," Alanna stated bluntly. "In fact, wands inhibit magic growth. A person of Hermione's magnitude should never even pick up a wand, and she is only half as powerful as Harry and Draco. Wands and staves were created as a means of boosting the power levels of witches and wizards, to be used in conjunction with wandless magic. However, it became apparent that, with wands, no one needed to learn how to control their powers themselves. Just put a wand in someone's hand and they can do any spell. Gradually, people stopped learning wandless and will magic because it was easier to use a wand. What happened, though, with extended wand usage, a person's natural magic levels atrophy and actually decrease. Harry, you did incredible will magic when you were little, right?" Harry nodded. "Could you do that now?"  
  
"I don't know." He admitted. "I could try..." He stared dubiously at the ground and concentrated. A small ball of fire spontaneously combusted in the center of the floor, and began to dance around the room. Sweat beaded off his face from concentration. The ball disappeared.  
  
"Hermione, you did similar things. Could you do that now?"  
  
"Probably not." She frowned and concentrated. A small flame flickered between her cupped hands. "This wasn't so hard the last time I did it." she admitted quietly.  
  
"That's my point exactly. As wand usage increases, the ability to do wandless and will magic decreases. It's like not exercising for a month. Your endurance and strength decrease from simple lack of use."  
  
"What is the difference between wandless and will magic?" George asked curiously.  
  
"Will magic is simply wishing for something to happen and it does. It is the magic equivalence of 'I want this, so I get this'." Harry gasped. His creating the clothing had been will magic. "Generally, will magic is strongest in very young children, because they haven't gotten out of the 'give me everything I want' stage. I think you people call it 'accidental magic', but it is no accident. It is largely unfocused unless you either are incredibly powerful or have spent years refining it. It simply reflects the instinctual desires of the person casting it.  
  
Wandless magic uses spells to focus the mind. It is not as powerful as will magic, but it is infinitely more precise. The spells are generally spoken out loud, but people incredibly proficient at it only have to think it. You use the same spells you would use for wand magic, but it takes more control, and a great deal more training. I remember training my children throughout the ages. I started them when they were old enough to speak, and it generally took until their tenth or eleventh years to master it. Also, the older you are when you start training, the harder it is to learn. An adult would take most of his or her life to master it."  
  
"What are Elves, Veela, Vampires, Dragons, Phoenixes, Unicorns, and Faeries?" Hermione asked. "Did you create them, or are they something else?"  
  
Alanna smiled. "Not exactly on topic, but I don't mind bragging about the kids. Vampires are my children, my pet project. They are my willing eyes and ears into the enemy's camp. I was mixing a potion for physical immortality in one of my lives about five thousand years ago, and it went highly awry. It killed me, then brought me back to life. I was given an intense craving for human blood, and those that I bit and then shared my blood became like me. It was wonderful, actually. Vampires naturally can accomplish wandless magic, transform and speak with any animal, and have incredibly heightened senses. I can call them, and they are loyal only to me."  
  
Dumbledore stood up, incredulous. "You mean you created them? They're evil!"  
  
"No they aren't. They just like the taste of your blood. What's so evil about that? Mosquitos do the same, and they aren't evil. Besides, they are my spies in Clautius's camp."  
  
Xander spoke up. "Veelas are my children. They are witches and wizards that became a whole separate race of no less than half demigod blood, and can survive magic saturation of up to two thirds blood. They are born with innate knowledge of will and wandless magic, and can perform elemental magic."  
  
Alanna continued. "Elves were a specific group of wizards that, almost ten thousand years ago, took our teachings completely to heart. Every one of them is at least half blood, and most of them are three quarters. They have exceptionally long lives, as they use their powers to keep them alive. It was through studying their magic that Clautius discovered true immortality. They do not practice any magic except for elemental magic, and have bred out all other abilities.  
  
"With them are Faeries, Elves that permanently partially transfigured themselves with wings of some sort. They also can only do elemental magic, though they can also speak to all animals."  
  
Xander took over. "Phoenixes are the spirits of Fire Elementals that tried to accomplish immortality. Alanna first created the form as one of her animal transformations, and they copied her. They are not trapped, but chose the life willingly. We gave them special abilities as well, that all of you know about.  
  
"The first Dragon was actually our first attempt to create more demigods. Our son and his soul mate chose those forms then asked for more to be created. They are not beasts like the Ministry classifies them, but are much more intelligent than humans. Unicorns, the Pegasus, and horses are just different species that branched off from one common ancestor."  
  
Alanna stretched. "Anything else you wish to know? Anything related to the topic?"  
  
"How much of an influence have you had on history?" Tonks asked.  
  
"Most of the wars fought on this planet are influenced by the ongoing war between us and Clautius. The Muggle world wars were directly related, as well as the war against Grissenwauld. I believe that most of the evil dictators were somehow influenced by Clautius, if not trained by him directly. Most of them have spouted his ideas as if they were their own. So, we've had a fairly hefty influence. " Xander also stood and stretched.  
  
"Anything else?" Most of the Order members shook their heads. Dumbledore poked his head up.  
  
"If you could ward the castle, then how do personal protection wards work?" I couldn't find anything written on them and the Dursleys need them in order to be able to leave the castle...  
  
"A person with magic would be able carry their own wards, but a nonmagical person would be warded the same as an inanimate object." She walked over to the Dursleys, sitting in the corner. "Watch carefully." She placed her hands on Petunia Durleys's forehead. A soft, deep blue glow emanated from her palm, and surrounded Petunia. The glow seeped into her skin, and Alanna removed her hand. Xander strode up behind them and threw a ball of fire at the unsuspecting mortal. Petunia screamed and threw up her hands to protect herself. Instantly, a deep blue aura surrounded her and absorbed the fire. Xander did the same to Vernon then Alanna tested his wards. She turned around.  
  
"Everyone catch that? Any more questions? No? Great! Now we get to ask the questions. First, what did you do with Grissenwauld? He was a pain in the butt."  
  
Dumbledore stood up and paced the front of the room. "In the final battle, I faced Grissenwauld. We dueled for hours, neither of us gaining or losing any ground. I tried one spell, out of desperation. With the help of the first Order of the Phoenix, we ripped a hole into Hell, and cast him there."  
  
Alanna's jaw dropped. "You did WHAT???" she screeched. Dumbledore recoiled.  
  
"Yes, I did. I opened a portal to Hell and sent him there. Pretty ingenious..." He trailed off. "It wasn't ingenious, was it?"  
  
"Nope, who owns Hell? Clautius. Who was Grissenwauld's master? Clautius. Basically, you just sent him home." Xander stated grimly. "Alanna, they didn't know. You can't blame them, especially since they had no clue about Clautius. They thought they were being clever."  
  
"Do you remember when that happened? We were on clean up duty for over ten years! Demons coming through left and right, the two planes improperly sealed, it was a mess! The Americans covered it up with the Vietnam and Korean Wars!" Harry and Draco cringed from the images of carnage and mayhem Alanna was projecting at top volume.  
  
Dumbledore was about to dismiss the meeting, but Xander asked another question. "So, what is the plan for dealing with Voldemort? You do have a plan, right?"  
  
"Of course we have a plan. When they attack, we repel their forces, unless Voldemort is actually with them. Then Harry will vanquish him once and for all.  
  
"What about after that? You know his followers won't give up once their leader's dead."  
  
"Umm" The rest of the Order was at a loss for words. They looked at each other, silently asking themselves why didn't we think of that?.  
  
"Do you have any offensive tactics? Don't you attack them? Do you deplete their forces? How many Death Eaters are there? Do you have any spies?"  
  
Severus Snape spoke up. Actually, I can answer that. No, there are no offensive tactics. We do not attack, though I have urged the Order to do so many times. Their forces continue to grow, and the last count was over two hundred, with an unknown number of sympathizers, and fifteen in the Inner Circle. I am the only spy for our side, though I know for a fact that he has two in place in Hogwarts. They are students, because I am the only one reporting to him during the summer."  
  
"So, let me see if I get this. Basically, you have no plan of action except stick a fifteen year old kid out there and hope for the best. Great, just great." Alanna threw up her hands in exasperation. Snape snickered.  
  
"That sums it up nicely, yes."  
  
Dumbledore called the meeting to a close before anything even more embarassing happened to the Order and himself. "Well, I think that wraps up the meeting. I wanted you to meet our newest allies, and they pack quite a punch." Draco sniggered. Yeah, old man, they had you crying like a baby. Harry sputtered and laughed. "Could I see all the staff members? The rest of you, thank you for your time. Remus Lupin if you could stay?" Hogwart's staff huddled around Dumbledore.  
  
Draco hung upside down in front of Alanna. "Hey, sis, could you show me how to use my powers?"  
  
"Sure, but I think your headmaster is going to ask us to teach here. Call it a woman's intuition. So, you might just have us in the classroom."  
  
Ten minutes later, after the rest of the staff had been dismissed, Dumbledore approached the two immortals. "We have reached a decision, and feel it would be beneficial if you could join our staff here and train our students in the lost arts. No one teaches wandless magic and elemental magic anymore because no one knows really how to do it effectively. But, you two are most proficient at it, more so than I could ever be. Would you consider staying on as instructors?"  
  
Alanna turned and stared at Harry and Draco. See, what did I tell you? She turned back to Dumbledore. "If it means that we can train our champion, and can watch out for our brother, then we would be honored to teach here. Besides, there are so many students that would be proficient in wandless magic. No one really needs the wand, except those that are so weak magically that they could never master any other type of magic."  
  
Alanna and Xander excused themselves, and left the room. Harry and Draco followed them. "Hey, Harry, wait up!" Ron and Hermione hurried after them. 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
  
Dudley and his parents walked back to their rooms in silence. Once they were inside, Vernon turned to Dudley, sneering in disgust. Dudley stood there, silent tears streaming down his face. Dudley sorrowfully gazed at his father and asked him "What, so you're just going to hate me? You'll hate me for something I cannot even control?" Vernon punched him across the jaw. Dudley fell to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.  
  
"You worthless freak. To think that I loved you and clothed you and this is the thanks I get? You're no better than your worthless cousin." Vernon spat in loathing. Petunia stood there, wracked with indecision. Who did she choose; her husband or her son? As Vernon pulled his arm back to strike her son again, she made her choice.  
  
"Get your hands off my son!" she yelled, coming between the two. "I should have done this years ago, instead of being too frightened and jealous to stand up for my beliefs. Dudley cannot help that he has magic, and neither can my nephew. It isn't their fault that they are the way they are. You are not to harm them again." With a bellow of rage, Vernon slammed her against the wall. She slid to the floor, dazed.  
  
Dudley lay on the floor, semiconscious. He barely noticed his mother land across the room from him, or Vernon advance and kick him in the ribs again and again. "You worthless freak. You're no better than your cousin" kept swirling in his mind, drawing him closer, closer, closer to the truth. He could almost grasp it. There. Something clicked into place, and he slumped forward, unconscious.  
  
Four year old Dudley sat in his room, playing war zone with his toy soldiers. He could hear Daddy beating Harry again, that special beating that happened when Mommy wasn't there. Mommy didn't know, and Daddy didn't know that Dudley knew it was happening._ I don't want that to happen to me,_ he thought anxiously. _That's why Daddy can't know that I can make my toys dance, or pretty fires start.  
_  
Dudley sat there on his floor, directing his troops. _If I_ _play hard enough, I can pretend not to hear Harry's screams_ he thought miserably. He pointed a finger, and his tanks rolled across the carpet, crushing the other side of the battle. The soldiers marched after the tanks, shooting anything that moved. Dudley didn't notice that the screams had turned to barely audible sobs, or that his father's heavy tread could be heard clearly coming up the stairs. He didn't see his father open the door and come into the room.  
  
"You worthless freak." Dudley jumped, and turned around fearfully. His father loomed over him, face purple.  
  
"You worthless freak." he repeated. "You're worthless, just like your cousin. Do you know what I do to freaks like you? Freaks that don't deserve to live?" Dudley slowly nodded, terrified.  
  
Vernon slammed his meaty hand across Dudley's face. The small boy flew backwards across the room. Vernon strode over to where his son had landed. Dudley whimpered.  
  
"Pwease, Daddy, don't huwt me! Don't huwt me wike you huwt Hawwy. Pwease, I'ww nevew do it again, pwease!" Vernon kicked his ribs savagely, then reached down to grab Dudley's throat.  
  
"NOOO!" shrieked Dudley at the top of his lungs. "MUMMY!!!" He threw his hand out at Vernon. The huge man flew through the air, hitting his head against the door jam and crashing through it. He skidded to the ground and lay there, unconscious. Dudley felt his shattered ribs heal, and the pain in his jaw vanished.  
  
"I'm not a fweak. I don't wanna do magic. I want Daddy to wove me again, and not hate me wike Hawwy. I WANT DADDY TO FOWGET! I WANNA FOWGET!" Dudley felt a brick wall slam down over part of his mind, and he slumped back, unconscious.   
  
Dudley lay on the stone floor in the common room in shock. He had made himself forget all those years ago, and he could see why. _My father's a child molester???_ Tears leaked from his clenched eyes. Suddenly, a wave of power swept through him. _It's back, my magic's back_ he thought in hysterical relief. He concentrated and energy crackled around him. Vernon and Petunia stared at him in shock.  
  
_ It's back. He's broken through whatever made him forget. He remembers everything, and from the looks of it, it was really bad,_Petunia thought, as she scooted back, suddenly afraid.  
  
Dudley slowly levitated into midair, and floated to an upright position. The whole room crackled with electricity. His eyes glowed red, and he drew back his arm, energy writhing around his fist. He shot his arm towards Vernon. "You sick bastard. This is for Harry," He growled low in his throat, "and for me."  
  
Vernon flew backwards and landed, pinned against the bookshelf across the room. He lay plastered against the books, stunned. Dudley raised his spread hand high into the air, and Vernon rose four feet from the ground, mimicking Dudley's movements. His legs kicked and pumped uselessly as Dudley clenched his fist, and effectively cut off his air supply.  
  
"Dudley, sweetie, put your father down." Petunia cautiously placed her hands on Dudley's shoulders.  
  
"He - isn't - my - son. I - have - no - son." Vernon wheezed, his face an alarming shade of purplish blue. Petunia's face turned stony. Dudley turned to his mother.  
  
"Mum, do you know exactly what he did to Harry?" Dudley asked conversationally, while tightening his already viselike grip on Vernon's massive neck. Vernon wheezed, and renewed his kicking efforts, to no avail.  
  
"Duddy, I was there. Once or twice, I even participated. Yes, we beat the shit out of him."  
  
"No, Mum, he did so much worse than that. And, he tried to do it to me. Mum, he - he touched him. He touched him all the time until Harry started attending Hogwarts, and, after that, he was too scared that Harry'd blow him up or something. It was so bad, and I was so scared, that I made both of us forget I could do magic. Why else do you think I hated Harry? It was safer."  
  
Petunia stared at her son in shock, unable to comprehend what her son was trying to tell her. _VERNON'S A CHILD MOLESTER??????_ She sat on the armrest of the couch, shaking her head. _Wait just a damn minute, Lily tried to tell me something._ She sat there, lost in memories.  
  
"Hey, sis, I know you don't want me butting into your life and all after you told me to leave and never come back, but you need to see this." Petunia looked up, shocked and furious. _HOW DARE that - that - that WITCH come here! She's always ruining my life! Why can't she tell she's not wanted!_ Lily flinched, but continued bravely.  
  
"I found this in the library archives while following up on some research I did for a school project." She held up a ten year old copy of the Lancaster Herald. The front page headline screamed, in bold print, 'Babysitter sentenced to 7 years for child molestation charges'. Petunia sneered at her.  
  
"And how, may I ask, does this pertain to me?"  
  
"Look, Petunia, I found this while researching on Muggle persecution of Magic kind. I found the first article in the Daily Prophet, but I found corresponding articles in the Lancaster Herald, the Surrey Times, and five other Muggle newspapers. They all say the same thing, except the Daily Prophet has quotes from the child molester himself."  
  
She started reading the article. "Fourteen year old Vernon Dursley was sentenced to seven years in a maximum security juvenile facility as well as receiving much needed psychiatric care for sixteen counts of child molestation, and physical abuse. According to his parents, Regina and Garth Dursley, Vernon gained access to these ten boys and six girls through various babysitting jobs. His parents have no idea what possessed him to choose these children, and not the other forty children he has babysat. However, in the courtroom, Dursley announced that those children were 'evil, worthless freaks who did not deserve to live' while on the stand. When asked what had prompted him to believe that, he stated 'They could make things float, and fly, and light on fire, and make floods happen. They were evil and needed to be punished." Lily looked up from the article. Petunia glared at her, disbelieving.  
  
"Petunia, listen to me. Vernon Dursley, your fiancée, is a child molester. You have the genetics to carry a magical child. In fact, you WILL have a wizard son, just as I will. We are descended from one of the most powerful wizards in history." Petunia covered her ears, refusing to hear her. "PETUNIA! LISTEN! If any children you bear have magical abilities, he will hurt them like he hurt those children. EVERY newspaper I read said the same thing. HE MOLESTS MAGICAL CHILDREN!" Petunia cut her off angrily.  
  
"I don't believe you! What right do you have, coming in here, telling me that I'll have abnormal children, and that my fiancée will abuse and molest any children we have??" She exploded, infuriated beyond reason. "I LOVE HIM! He is a GOOD man! WHY must you make up LIES, LILY??? Why can't you accept that I am HAPPY??? Why are you doing this to me?" Petunia broke down into tears. "Just go away" she sobbed. "I don't believe you. I don't believe you."  
  
_Oh my God, she was telling the truth. All this time I hated her for what I thought was her just trying to ruin my happiness. She was just trying to protect me, like all big sisters protect their little sisters she thought numbly. And, I yelled at her, and called her a liar. Dumbledore must have known, why did he send Harry here? He knew what Vernon was, and still is. Why did he entrust Harry to us?_ She turned to her husband, voice dripping in sarcastic sugary sweetness. "Vernon, love, what did you do to my son?"  
  
Vernon looked confusedly back and forth between Petunia and Dudley. "Whaa--?" he croaked, his lips turning blue. Dudley sighed, and ran a hand through the air. Vernon's confusion vanished, and he stared at his son in shock and hatred before passing out.  
  
"He didn't remember before, but he remembers now." Dudley dropped the dead weight to the floor with a crash.  
  
Petunia stared at the crumpled form on the floor and felt only a seething hatred and revulsion. To think I let that trash touch me for eighteen years... "Are you positive he's been molesting Harry?" she asked, finally coming to a decision.  
  
"I heard him, but I never saw it happen. Why? What are you planning to do?"  
  
"Did he touch you?" Petunia cringed, terrified of what she might hear. _If he did that to my Duddy, I swear I'll cut his dick off myself with a dull, plastic knife...  
_  
"He punched and kicked me, but I threw him against the wall before he could do any worse. He was going to try, though. He promised to hurt me like he hurt Harry." Dudley's energy slowly dropped and he gradually settled back down on the ground. Petunia wrapped her arms around her son.  
  
"Oh God, Duddy, I'm so sorry" she sobbed. Dudley was about to speak, but she steamrolled right over him, desperate to get the guilt out of her and into the open. "Lily told me almost twenty years ago, right before we got married, that bastard and I. She gave me news articles, proving that he had done time for molesting magical children, children that could make things fly, or move, or light on fire, and all that other stuff you can do. He hurt them badly and went to juvenile hall for seven years. I didn't believe her, and called her a liar. She was only trying to protect me and any children I might have, and I told her to leave and never come back." She gasped for breath, and Dudley tried to comfort her.  
  
"Mum, I'm all right, I swear. He can't hurt anyone ever again. Mum, you didn't know, honestly you didn't." Petunia tried to interrupt him, but he put a finger against her lips. "Hear me out. Mum, he went to great lengths to hide it from you. You never saw it, or you would have stopped it. He made sure you never saw it. You thought Aunt Lily was lying, because you had no reason to believe her, and you and she were always fighting. Yes, she was telling the truth, but you loved him and really didn't know. It's not your fault. I don't blame you, and I don't think Harry blames you either. Please, Mum, stop crying. We have to do something with him." He gestured to the stirring Vernon.  
  
Petunia broke from her son's grasp and walked over to him. She savagely kicked the enormous man in the ribs. Vernon groaned and opened his eyes blearily. "Now listen, slime, I'm only going to say this once. I want a divorce. You will give it to me, and you are never to come near me again." She strode angrily over to the Floo and threw a handful of the green dust in.  
  
"Dumbledore's office!" His head appeared in the fireplace.  
  
"Yes, Mrs. Dursley?" She shuddered slightly at the name.  
  
"Actually, Petunia is fine. Could we switch rooms, if you wouldn't mind?" She put on her best angelic expression.  
  
"I'll be there in two minutes." Dumbledore promised and closed the connection. She walked quickly into the bathroom, reappearing less than a minute later with her and Dudley's toiletries. She threw them into her already full suitcase and slammed it shut with a bang. Dudley grabbed his unopened suitcase, and they left without a backwards glance.  
  
Dumbledore met them right outside the painting. "May I ask what is wrong with these rooms?" He took in stoically Petunia's stony expression and the energy crackling around Dudley.  
  
"Is my nephew busy?" Petunia inquired politely, evading the question. I really don't want to talk about this right now she thought tiredly. "I have something I need to discuss with him as soon as possible. It is a matter of utmost importance."  
  
"I believe that he is with Draco Malfoy, Alanna, and Xander, searching for elusive Potions Master, Professor Snape. If I see him, I will tell him that you need to speak with him." Dumbledore led the two of them down the hall and down one flight of stairs. They stopped in front of another painting, this one of a maiden and a unicorn. The maiden curtsied to Dumbledore, and froze when she saw Petunia and Dudley.  
  
"Really, Albus" she trilled softly, "what is a Muggle doing inside Hogwarts?"  
  
"This is Harry Potter's family. Please protect them." he said, inclining into a half bow.  
  
"Of course, anything for Harry! He is such a dear, polite boy, and so handsome." The painting swung open, revealing a suit of rooms even more elaborate than the first. Large embroidered tapestries adorned the walls, and a thick, plush carpet covered the floor. Three maroon, velvet couches were arranged in a semicircle around a stone fireplace. A roaring fire heated the rooms comfortably. Dudley ran inside to check it out.  
  
At the entrance, Petunia turned to Dumbledore. "Now that Vernon has been warded, can he leave? He isn't happy here, and wants to go home."  
  
"Of course. I'll arrange for the wards on Privet Drive to be strengthened, and you could leave for home tomorrow at the latest." Why on earth did she want a room change, then? And, where is Vernon Dursley?  
  
"Oh no, just Vernon. Dudley finally broke through the block he had on his magic, and he needs to train his powers. I really don't want to leave him, considering that everything has changed so quickly for him. I'm the only constant he has right now." She carefully peered through the opening. Dudley was nowhere in sight. She lowered her voice considerably and moved closer to Dumbledore. "Why did you place Harry in our care? I know that you knew about Vernon's conviction. Why did you put him in a situation that could have led to him being hurt so badly?"  
  
Dumbledore stared at her for a long time. "What conviction?" he asked finally.  
  
"You know exactly what I am talking about. Thirty years ago, he was arrested and convicted of molesting sixteen magical Muggleborn children!" she hissed angrily. "It's only because I refused to believe my sister, may she rest in peace, when she confronted me with the proof, that I still married him. You put Harry in the home of a child molester!" she hissed angrily.  
  
Dumbledore absently stroked his beard. "I thought it was a calculated risk we had to take. Harry had to live with a blood relative for the protection spells to work, and you and Dudley are his only living blood relatives. Besides, Vernon went through psychiatric care and was deemed cured. Harry was in no danger."  
  
"Are you sure about that? My son says differently, and that is why he repressed his own powers. It was not 'safe' for magical people to be in the same vicinity as my soon to be ex-husband." Petunia acidly replied, loathing evident in her voice, and swept angrily into the rooms. The painting swung shut behind her. Dumbledore stood there for a long time, staring thoughtfully at the painting. He finally turned and strode in the opposite direction.  
  
  
  
After searching several hours fruitlessly for the elusive Professor Snape, Harry, Alanna, Draco, and Xander were forced to admit defeat. Alanna and Xander went downstairs to get something to eat. Harry and Draco went in the opposite direction, up to the library to meet up with Ron and Hermione. Ron and Hermione had given up hours ago, and had wandered off to the library to do their summer assignments. Harry was willing to bet they were in a broom closet somewhere along the way, snogging.  
  
_ Oh, bad mental image. I did NOT need to picture Granger and Weaseley swapping spit._ Draco winced and rubbed his temples.  
  
_ You know, your only reason for insulting Hermione just disappeared. She is my cousin, and the descendant of Merlin. Can't you be a little nicer to her? I know you and Ron will hate each other until the days you die from the family feud and all, but she really is ok.  
_  
They rounded the corner and entered the library. Harry stopped, amused. Ron and Hermione were, in fact, doing their assignments. At least, Hermione was. Ron was leaning back in his chair, staring off into space. He carefully balanced a quill on his nose.  
  
_ Oh my god, even I noticed the sparks between those two, and I'm the densest person in the world when it comes to who is attracted to who._ Harry laughed to himself as he sat down across the table from Ron. Draco smirked at Harry as he sat down across from Hermione.  
  
_You finally admitted you're dense, Potter. I'm so proud of you.  
  
Quit being a smartass. It's the damn truth. I never notice these things, but I noticed this one right away. They've been after each other since fourth year. It's so obvious it's scary.  
  
Well, now, I have something else to hold against her. She has horrible taste in men.  
  
You know, you can't help who you fall for, dork. My aunt fell for Vernon, and look where that got her.  
_  
"Hey, no luck?" Ron asked Harry, ignoring Draco completely.  
  
"Nope, we searched all over the castle. He isn't here." A loud rustling noise from behind a nearby bookshelf caught his attention. He heard a muffled curse, and the four of them watched, amused, as the bookshelf closest to them toppled and fell, revealing an incredibly annoyed and embarrassed Professor Snape hiding amongst the books.  
  
Harry and Draco looked at each other with undisguised glee. Snape scowled at them and tried to extricate himself from the enormous pile of tomes with little success. _Oh, the possibilities_ Harry thought mischievously.  
  
_What should we do to my beloved Godfather?_ Draco drawled mentally, grinning.  
  
_ Snape's on the hot seat! Snape's on the hot seat!_ Harry chanted in a singsong voice.  
  
_ Hmmmm. Turn him in or hide as well? Alanna really wanted to explain bonding to him._ Draco pretended to contemplate the choices. Snape blanched and groaned, shaking his head.  
  
"I swear, you two will have detention until the day I DIE..."  
  
"Professor" Draco began eagerly, smirking evilly.  
  
"We have made our decision" Harry continued, not missing a beat. Snape, Hermione, and Ron stared at them in amazement. The only people they had ever seen finish each others sentences like that had been the Weaseley twins.  
  
The two grinned and glanced furtively over their shoulders, checking to see if the demigods had come up behind them. Not seeing anyone, they continued in unison. "Can we hide with you, please? Please?" They put on their best angelic expressions.  
  
Snape snorted. "Sure, why not? I daresay you'll be more entertaining than listening to Ms. Granger browbeat Mr. Weaseley into studying, although he needs it sorely."  
  
Hermione preened, looking extremely pleased with herself. Ron sulked next to her. "You know, Ron, you do need to finish your Potions and Transfiguration assignments. If you get them done now, you don't have to worry about them for the rest of the summer, and scramble to finish them right before school starts." Ron mocked her behind her back. Harry did the same, rolling his eyes. Professor Snape's mouth twitched, and Draco smothered his guffaw in a coughing fit.  
  
"RONALD WEASELEY!!!! STOP MOCKING ME!!!!" Harry jumped and turned, transfixed, as Hermione screeched at Ron, tears in her eyes. They gravitated closer together until their noses were only inches apart. Ron's face reddened until it perfectly matched his hair. Snape and Draco backed up, worried that he might just spontaneously combust.  
  
"Quit BUGGING me!" Ron started to yell as well. "I'LL DO MY BLOODY FUCKING HOMEWORK WHEN I BLOODY FUCKING WANT TO!!!  
  
"DON'T SWEAR AT ME, YOU INCOMPETANT ASS!! YOU'LL PROCRASTINATE UNTIL THE DAY BEFORE IT'S DUE THEN YOU'LL BEG ME TO WRITE IT!!!!!" Snape's eyebrows rose at the language and accusation. He was about to speak but Draco shushed him and wished for popcorn. He could see why Harry liked hanging out with these two. It was so entertaining. He wondered vaguely if Harry would get upset if he scheduled screaming matches and charged admission...  
  
_ Don't even try.  
  
Spoilsport! Come on, Harry, it'll be so much fun, and so profitable...  
  
NO!  
  
FINE!  
_  
Ron, recovered from his shock at being accused of cheating enough to begin screaming again, yelled back with renewed vigor. "I HAVE NEVER ASKED YOU TO WRITE MY HOMEWORK!!!" He screeched at the top of his lungs.  
  
"BOLLOCKS! EVERY ASSIGNMENT IT'S THE SAME THING!!! I'M SO FUCKING BLOODY SICK OF IT!!!!! DO YOUR OWN GOD DAMN FUCKING HOMEWORK AND DO IT NOW!!!!!!!!!!" she roared at the top of her lungs. Snape and Draco quickly overturned a table and ducked behind it, certain that hexes were about to fly. Ron's eyes bugged out. Harry still sat across from them, staring in awe and disbelief.  
  
_ Isn't there a law of physics or something that says that someone's eyes can only bulge out of their sockets so far before popping out? _he asked in a detached, scientific manner.  
  
_ Harry, get out of there! You're in the direct line of fire! You could be killed! Come over here where it's safe!_ Draco pleaded, convinced he was about to feel his soul mate die or worse.  
  
_Don't worry about me. This happens this time every year since first year. No one has died yet.  
  
_ "NO!!!!" Ron roared right back at her. "YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!!!"  
  
_This has gone far enough._ "Will you two stop the theatrics and just kiss already? You both know you want to." Harry sat there and examined his nails, bored. _Really, it was getting so old _he yawned. They turned as one and stared at him, incredulous.  
  
_ I wash my hands of you, Potter. You are either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid. I wouldn't get between them if you paid me. I'll send flowers to your funeral, _Draco commented dryly.  
  
"Harry, butt out" Hermione nearly growled.  
  
"Yeah mate, don't get involved. This time, we're gonna have this out." They turned back to each other, each preparing to continue the screaming match.  
  
_ Oh, I'm gonna regret this later, but I can't pass up the priceless opportunity. Harry, don't say anything and don't stop me. Remember me fondly._ Draco darted forward from behind his overturned table. He came up behind the two arguing Gryffindors and pressed their lips together. "KISS ALREADY AND SHUT UP!!!!!" he bellowed.  
  
They did, and did, and did some more. After about five minutes of uninterrupted snogging, Harry, Draco, and Snape looked at each other in amusement and disbelief. As one, they rose from their respective places and strode from the library. "Now we have to find another hiding place" commented Snape ruefully.  
  
"The Forbidden Forest?" Harry suggested with a grin.  
  
"Are you nuts? There're werewolves and worse in there!" Draco hissed, shivering.  
  
"Are you a demigod or not??? Nothing in there can hurt you!!!"  
  
"I'm going to regret this. Potter, Draco, follow me. We are going to my quarters, and, Potter, if you breathe a word of this to anyone, I'll flunk you." Snape led them down into the dungeons. They walked past the Potions classroom, turned a corner, and stopped short, shocked. Alanna stood right in front of them, smirking. "Oh, good, we found you."  
  
Xander placed his hand on Draco's shoulder, making him jump about a foot in the air. "And, you have our brothers with you. Let's talk." His tone bore no room for argument.  
  
Groaning, Snape led them to his quarters and they trudged inside. Alanna quickly claimed Snape's comfortable, expensive leather couch. She and Xander curled up together at one end.  
  
"Oh, sure, make yourself right at home" Snape snapped sardonically.  
  
"Thank you, don't mind if we do." Alanna waved her hand and absently conjured a thirty ounce mug of steaming cocoa with marshmallows and whipped cream on top. "Anyone want a cocoa?" she asked. Xander and Harry agreed eagerly. "Draco, Severus, do either of you want anything?"  
  
"Butterbeer, please" requested Draco politely.  
  
"Firewhiskey, make it a double. I'm gonna need it" Snape growled, turning and reaching into a compartment behind several thick tomes on his bookshelf. He pulled out a full bottle of Ogden's Firewhiskey. He turned back around and stared cross-eyed at the double shot floating in front of his nose. He snatched the glass and downed the contents, immediately pouring himself another.  
  
_ Damn_ thought Draco to Harry. _You'd think with the sexaphobic way he's acting, he's still a virgin.  
  
Maybe not,_ Harry replied after careful consideration. _Maybe he had a really traumatizing experience. Either that or he has never been laid.  
  
Like you have._ Draco shot at him.  
  
_ No, just been - damn, don't even think it,_ he thought bitterly. Draco's eyes widened, as did Snape's, Alanna's, and Xander's. Neither of the boys noticed the concerned and livid glances the three adults were passing back and forth.  
  
_I'm so sorry, Harry, please forgive me. I didn't think about what I was saying. You're right, that isn't sex, it's horrible and I don't know what to say.  
  
Draco, stop babbling. It's alright. I'm fine. Besides, it hasn't happened in almost six years. The last time was one month before my acceptance letter. Really, I am ok.  
_  
Alanna and Xander held an extremely private conversation._ Lana, you thinking what I'm thinking?  
  
I'm thinking that I'm protecting a child molester, and there isn't a damn thing I can do about it without Harry finding out that we have guessed what happened to him._ Snape's eyes hardened. He knew of several things that could be done without Harry finding out, especially while Vernon Dursley was still at Hogwarts.  
  
_How the hell can he still be so cheerful, unless the last six years have been completely an act? If that's the case, how did he not wind up in my house?_ he thought without anyone else hearing him.  
  
_ It was time,_ Snape decided, for a change in conversation. "I can't believe that I'm about to get the sex talk from someone young enough to be my daughter," he groused, sinking into an overstuffed leather armchair.  
  
Harry and Draco snickered, relieved that the conversation could distract them with ordinary problems, like Snape's squeamishness about sex. The two teens claimed the matching ottoman footstools that sat in front of the couch. They lounged, cross-legged, and sipped their drinks.  
  
"Whatever gave you that idea?" Alanna asked with an evil grin. "We aren't young enough to be your children, by any stretch of the imagination."  
  
"You look to be barely twenty. I turned forty one last month. You do the math." Snape buried his head in his hands, and sipped his second double whiskey. _If I get plastered,_ he thought a little too loudly, _then can I forget this conversation ever took place?  
  
_ "Oh, please, just relax for once in your life. You are not going to get the sex talk."  
  
Harry and Draco laughed, Harry laughing so hard he fell off the ottoman. Snape was relieved to feel nothing but mirth and happiness rolling from the boy. _Wait, he hadn't been thinking out loud...  
_  
"How many of you just heard my thoughts?" He asked suspiciously, his eyes darting back and forth between his rather unwanted guests.  
  
"All of us" Harry and Draco spoke in unison. "You'll get used to it after a while" Draco quietly told him. "You'll be able to project your thoughts first, and then receive them from others."  
  
_ Duh,_ he thought quietly to himself.  
  
Alanna shot him a funny look, and leaned forward. "That's what I wanted to talk to all of you about. Harry and Draco's bond isn't proceeding normally because they are not physically involved, and Severus, your soul mate is not here, so you have not bonded in any way shape or form. Basically, what to normally expect is, that as your physical relationship grows, so does your mental bond. Because you two," she nodded to the two teenagers, "are not attracted to each other, your bond is the same as that of sharing thoughts with anyone else. You can hear each other the same as you would hear anyone else's thoughts. You have to concentrate a little bit to hear each other, and only hear what the other person sends you, am I right?" The two boys nodded and looked slightly confused.  
  
"A bonded couple should have a constant connection to each other, and should be able to hear each other's thoughts as well as feel each others emotions pretty much all the time, shielding thoughts or not. You don't have that." Draco refrained from telling her about sharing the memories. Some things were too private.  
  
"Severus, you will go through the same thing that they have gone through, but alone. Your soul mate, for some reason isn't here, and we can't find her." Severus opened then shut his mouth, confused.  
  
"What do you mean, you cannot find her? You are demigods, aren't you?"  
  
"We know when one of our kin is in our realm and in danger or in trouble. We don't know outside of our realm. So, we know she is not here. But, other than that, we cannot find her. What we do know is that she should have been here two years ago. That was when she had found you mentally, and alerted us to the fact that she knew who her soul mate was and where he was. When we didn't hear from her after that, we knew something was wrong. We assumed mortal form and came looking for her. She hasn't died, or she would have been able to contact us. Our guess is that she is in trouble." Alanna took a fortifying gulp of cocoa. "I'm positive that Clautius has her."  
  
"So, when do we rescue her?" he asked, mind whirling with possibilities. _Alanna had been raped and tortured... no, don't think that way,_ he chided himself.  
  
"Not until you have been trained to take on an immensely powerful demigod. If she is where I think she is, then it will take all of us to get her back. Speaking of training, Severus, we would like to start as soon as possible."  
  
Harry and Draco looked at each other. "Would right now be a problem?" they asked.  
  
"Well, it will be hard seeing that Sev isn't on the same page yet." Snape cut her off arrogantly.  
  
_ Excuse me, _he sent, lowering his carefully constructed shields. _Of course I'm not on the same page. I'm way ahead of you. This information you have chosen to enlighten me with is thirty years too late. I've been successfully shielding my thoughts since my Hogwarts Acceptance letter. I was just surprised you could hear my thoughts, that's all. My shields slipping haven't happened to me since I was thirteen.  
  
_ Alanna smiled in genuine admiration. "You figured out how to shield on your own without the stabilizing benefits of a soul mate? Most impressive."  
  
Xander spoke up. "May I ask how you learned? Shielding is something especially hard for us, as it is something completely unnecessary for us in spirit form. In fact, the only way we communicate is telepathy. It was the hardest transition for us coming into mortal form."  
  
"What he means to say is that until Clautius entrapped me within my own mind, rendering me helpless, we didn't even know what shielding was or why it was necessary. I was the first demigoddess to actually learn shielding, and it was only after I had learned that I was able to escape from his realm." Alanna quietly spoke, face a stony mask.  
  
"It was a necessity. By the time I was nine, I could hear the thoughts of everyone within a five mile radius. It was driving me insane, and I forced myself to learn how to block them out, or else I would have killed myself" Snape commented dryly.  
  
"What element do you find easiest to do?" inquired Xander to the three.  
  
Harry though for a moment. "I found manipulating earth, like earthquakes, making that glass disappear, that sort of is easiest, and the most fun to do."  
  
"I remember making whirlwinds in my room when I was little. It was much easier and more fun than the other stuff." Draco smiled a little at the memory.  
  
"Telepathy. I cheated on all my tests with it when I was younger." Snape stated simply, with a straight face. Draco snickered. "What? Slytherin rule number one: Always use what gifts you have, especially if they give you an advantage."  
  
"So, now that we know that Uncle Sev can talk to us, can we start training? Please?" Draco pouted, giving Alanna his best pleading basset hound look. Harry snorted with laughter. Alanna and Xander exchanged amused glances.  
  
"Ok, so we have an earth elemental, an air elemental, and a mind elemental. Right. Let's move this back to the Room of Requirement, because I don't think Severus would appreciate us rearranging and redecorating his furniture." Snape winced at the thought.  
  
_ My leather couches and chairs would never be the same. _He cringed at the destruction three untrained demigods could wreak on his rooms. Alanna snickered, and the five of them found themselves back in the Room of Requirement.  
  
"Hey, how do you keep doing that? I thought Hogwarts was warded against apparating!" Draco exclaimed, confused.  
  
"It's so simple, really." Xander smirked at his younger brother. Draco glared back at him. "Sucks when the patented smirk is turned on you, doesn't it. Anyway, the beauty of the wards is that they guard against apparating in and out, but not inside the ward from place to place. Also, since our descendants created these wards, they recognize us and let us through. That's how we apparated into Hogwarts in the first place."  
  
"Now, to get started." Alanna walked briskly to the center of the room and extended her hand. "Wands, please." Their wands appeared in the center of her palm. "You are too powerful to ever need to pick up a wand, and they will only hinder your progress." She quickly pocketed them. "All right, here's the plan for the time until school starts. First, all those spells you have learned? You are going to learn them again, but without a wand. Second, you will learn how to direct your thoughts and do will magic. Third, you'll learn how to shield your thoughts from attack. Now, let's get started."  
  
  
  
The next three weeks passed quickly. Mrs. Weaseley, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George left the first day. Remus went back to Grimmauld place a few days after that. Vernon left with him, back to Privet Drive and work. He still had bruises from where Dudley had throttled him, and for some reason, which he was not telling, his pants hung very oddly in the front. Professor Snape had seen him off, and Vernon had run, screaming, into the Floo. Dudley and Petunia stayed, and kept to themselves. Harry only saw them at meals. For some reason, Petunia had walked up to him, crying, that first day after training. She had hugged him, hard, and begged for his forgiveness. He had accepted her apology warily, with the distinct feeling that, somehow, she knew about Vernon's abuse.  
  
Ron and Hermione came back a week later, determined to stay with Harry and protect him from the "evil Slytherins." However, they spent the whole time pretty much ignoring his existence. He would see them in the halls, and say hello, but they were too wrapped up in their budding relationship to notice him. Pretty soon, Harry only saw them when he returned to Gryffindor Tower to go to sleep, or if he stumbled on them in some odd corner of the castle, making out. Harry missed them terribly, but was soon spending too much time training and hanging out with Draco and Professor Snape to really have time to notice their absence.  
  
Harry, Draco, and Snape spent two hours a day formally training with Alanna and Xander. They quickly relearned all the spells they had mastered, and learned several more, having picked Professor Snape's brain for more knowledge on several occasions. Snape had finally relaxed his shields to the point that the five of them no longer felt the need to converse with each other verbally. Anyone who had watched their sessions would have been amazed at the speed and ability of the three students.  
  
Harry by far was absorbing new information the quickest of the three, something that bothered Draco and Snape to distraction. He only had to see something once for the knowledge of how to perform that skill to be permanently imprinted in his memory. However, he passed on the knowledge telepathically of how to do the skill to the other two as soon as he learned it, making the sessions move much quicker than Alanna and Xander had ever imagined. By the end of the third week, they had mastered all the spells they knew, had learned to direct their thoughts for will magic, and had just finished learning shields. Harry only had to feel how Snape raised his shields for him to create his own, and show Draco how to form them.  
  
"Well, that's incredible shielding," said Alanna in amazement as she was forcibly ejected from Harry and Draco's minds. _You know, Xander_, she thought privately to her soul mate, _They are much closer than we thought. Are you sure nothing is going on there?  
_  
_Lana, you wouldn't let me touch you for almost three hundred years after Clautius hurt you like that. I'm pretty sure nothing is happening between them._ Xander stared, concerned at his newest brother. _He seems so calm and happy. I wonder how the hell he has coped with this happening to him. At least that bastard left over two weeks ago. He can't hurt him now.  
_  
"Ok, let's start something fun. Since you have mastered the basic skills in less time than anyone ever has, we can start animal transformations and apparation."  
  
"Cool!" Harry and Draco exclaimed. Snape yawned.  
  
"I can already apparate, and..." He trailed off, then transformed. An enormous raven flew around the room and settled on Draco's shoulder. _Hello, Draco_ he sent to his amazed Godson.  
  
"Hey, so that's how you kept getting into the Manor without anyone spotting you! Father used to have a fit..." he trailed off, saddened, and Harry rubbed his back comfortingly.  
  
"I can't ever go home, can I?" he buried his head in Harry's shoulder. "I wish I could remember. It can't be that bad, can it?" Snape transformed back and hugged his Godson, hard.  
  
"Draco, you are better off not remembering. I was there the whole time, unable to stop it from happening" Snape murmured into Draco's hair. He and Harry exchanged glances over the smaller boy's head. _Professor, what can I tell him? What can you tell him? He's going crazy not knowing exactly what happened. It's eating him up inside. I honestly think he would be better off if his subconscious would let him remember.  
_  
_Potter, I don't know. I just don't know anymore._ They were interrupted by the feeling of someone walking down the hallway, and stopping at the Room of Requirement. They broke apart as Dumbledore appeared at the door.  
  
"Um, Severus, could I steal you for a couple of hours? I have something I need to discuss with you." He stood in the doorway, and leaned on the door jam.  
  
"Headmaster, could you give me a half an hour? We are almost done for the day, and it's an especially difficult concept." Snape stated, looking as if he were in intense concentration.  
  
"All right, meet me in my office in exactly thirty minutes." He turned and left.  
  
_You know, we are finished for the day,_ Alanna thought. _You can leave, if you want.  
  
_ _I really don't want to go to that meeting._ Snape sighed and stretched.  
  
_ So, where do you have to go?  
  
Order meetings are called every day. That is where I go every other afternoon. It seems that they have taken your criticism to heart. They actually have plans made that do not involve 'Give Harry Potter to Voldemort so they can kill each other and run like hell'._ he dourly replied.  
  
Alanna turned to Harry, shocked. _And you have no say in these meetings? Why the hell not? You are their champion, their ultimate weapon. Why don't you attend these meetings also?  
  
Because I'm just a dumb kid. I'm supposed to take orders, be a model student, and not question those who are older and know better than me, _he mocked.  
  
_ So you have no say in decisions that could potentially affect whether you live or die,_ she stated bluntly.  
  
_ Basically, yes. I'm too young to be a member or the Order, and, until almost two months ago, I didn't even know why Voldemort even wanted to kill me. Turns out that prophesy didn't even have to be about me. Neville could have been the one he attacked, because he fit the criteria as well.  
  
Could we have the whole prophesy? _Xander asked. _The wording in these makes all the difference, sometimes.  
  
Sure. It's 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies, and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not. And, either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives. The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies.' Weird, isn't it?  
_  
Xander sat in the corner of the room, mulling over the possible meanings.  
  
Alanna continued to question Harry. _Haven't you ever acted against that?  
  
Yep, every year. Except, this year, he had my father thrown in jail. _Draco wittily replied. Harry glared at him.  
  
_Still gonna kill me, Malfoy? You did promise, after all. _Draco snarled at him, completely pissed.  
  
_Enough!_ yelled Snape. You two have already put aside your differences. _Stop fighting!_ Draco snickered.  
  
_Malfoy, shut your asshole!_ Harry snarled. _How would you like it if you were responsible for Severus Snape's death???? I have to live with that feeling every fucking day. I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR SIRIUS'S DEATH! You wonder why I keep trying to kill myself????_ Harry walked over to the window and stared outside, tears streaming down his face.  
  
_May I ask how he died?_ Alanna asked quietly, coming up behind him to hold him. He stiffened at her touch, and she retreated, troubled.  
  
Harry whimpered, a lost, far away look coming over his eyes. For a minute, while he projected his memories of the events leading up to Sirius's death and the aftermath, his eyes went flat, dead. Draco, without any hesitation, wrapped his arms tightly around Harry. Harry, surprisingly, didn't shy away from his touch but leaned into it, allowing Draco to comfort him. He even buried his face into Draco's shoulder.  
  
_Impressive thought Severus,_ behind his strongest shields. _There were only six of them, they took on well over four times their number and none of them died. They even managed to incapacitate well over eighteen Death Eaters and capture four. True, only Harry and Luna escaped without any injury, but the other four were not seriously hurt_. He watched, shocked, as Bellatrix Lestrange sent her own cousin through the Veil, and Harry attempting to cast Crucio on her. _That coldhearted BITCH,_ he thought vehemently.  
  
_ Oddly enough, even after a horrible loss, Potter is still a good enough person, and still cares enough about others that he cannot cast a spell that is meant to cause another person horrible pain._ Severus felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. _And, I have treated him horribly. I've always thought of him as a pampered, spoiled brat, but he is one of the most caring, unselfish people I have ever met. He is so much like Lily, it hurts. And, I thought he was exactly like James. James wouldn't have flown five hours on a broom to rescue his best friend, let alone his worst enemy. And, Harry did just that. Lily would be so ashamed of my actions.  
_  
Alanna looked pensive as soon as the barrage of pain and loss had ended. _I need to see this Veil for myself. she finally thought in reply. If it is what I think it is, then Sirius didn't die, but was given a fate far worse than death.  
  
WHAT!!!!!_ bellowed Harry. _WHAT DO YOU MEAN, A FATE WORSE THAN DEATH????????  
  
I recognize the Veil, but I am not sure it is the same one that I saw before. If it is, then it is the only existing portal into Clautius's realm and we will have to go through it and rescue Sirius as well.  
  
Through the Veil??_ Harry asked, incredulously. Abruptly, his tone changed. _Is Sirius actually dead or is he alive?? TELL ME, PLEASE!  
  
_ Harry, and finally Draco and Snape alternating begged, pleaded and threatened Alanna for more information, but she would not say anything else on the matter and dismissed them for the day.  
  
Snape went to Dumbledore's office, and the other two headed outside. Harry sat down on the edge of the lake, still crying softly. Draco left, calling over his shoulder_ I'm going to get our brooms._ Harry sat, cross legged, and pulled out a small pocketknife from the back pocket of his black jeans. He pulled up the sleeve of his dark blue shirt, and stared at his wrist. Thin scars covered the entire area. _Sure, they look old and faded. Who would believe that every one of them was made within the last month and a half?_ He thoughtfully pressed the blade to a patch of unmarred skin further up his arm and cut. He watched, fascinated, as his blood beaded and welled out of the thin slice. _It always amazes me how pretty this is, _he thought absently as he sliced his arm lightly several more times, then, on a whim, slashed his arm with some force.  
  
Grimacing from the sting of pain, he pressed the blade harder, cutting deeper into his flesh. _Across the arm, to the hospital. Down the arm, to the morgue. I really wish I could, but then who would kill Voldemort? Supposedly, I'm the best they've got. Wow, come here, Voldemort, look at this! Potter is going to make your job that much easier by offing himself. Nope, don't think so.  
_  
He continued cutting until he had another half a dozen lines running across his forearm and the blood dripped steadily from his fingertips. _Hey,_ he thought in slight alarm as several minutes went by and nothing happened, _why aren't I healing? Usually, by now, I would have scabbed over and more scars would have formed. This feels funny. Draco, Draco? DRACO!!_ He stared, a little dizzy, at his still bleeding arm.  
  
  
  
A/N: Hey, sorry about the delay. I am alerting you all that my computer is having a midlife crisis and has decided to shut down, not save things to disk or CD, and all kinds of other crazy stuff. I'm gonna try to type this stuff at school, but its gonna be a slow and painful process. The chapters are not going to be posted on a regular basis. Again, my apologies, and don't kill me. 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7  
  
Draco walked inside the Entrance Hall, and doubled over, his arm burning with pain. Vaguely, he could feel that something was terribly wrong. He ran back outside, trusting his instincts to guide him. Harry. Something was wrong with Harry. _DRACO!!!!_ Cut like a knife across his thoughts. A knife. What the hell? Why was Harry bleeding? He sprinted to the lake, just in time to catch Harry in his arms as the Gryffindor tried to stand up and toppled over. Harry's arm was a mass of bleeding cuts.  
  
_Someone got a little too happy with his knife, didn't he?_ Draco asked lightly, trying to keep his fear at bay. Something wasn't right. Why wasn't Harry healing on his own? His aura flared and he ran a hand over Harry's arm. Instantly, the slashes stopped bleeding and closed, healing with a small scar.  
  
_ It didn't feel right. I didn't heal. I was bleeding so much and for so long. Why didn't I heal? I have every other time._ Harry sank into unconsciousness.  
  
_ Alanna! Xander! Uncle Sev! HELP!!!! _Draco panicked. _Come on, Harry, wake up, please!!! I can't deal with this! _He froze as images of agony and terror began flashing before his eyes. _Oh SHIT_ he thought desperately as he was sucked into a repressed memory. _HARRY! HELP!_   
  
Long black robes surrounded him from where he lay on the floor, gasping in pain.  
  
"Crucio" He screamed over and over, trying to escape the pain. He sank into blackness, only to be jolted back into consciousness. He hung from a wall in the dungeons. _I'm in the dungeons,_ his clothing in tatters. _Oh GOD it's cold down here. Please help me, someone, please GOD help me.  
_  
"Crucio". He screamed again and again, in agony then the pain was lifted. He gulped in a ragged breath, only to have it slammed out of his body.  
  
"Crucio". Again, screaming. _Don't they ever stop? What deity did I piss off?_ he asked, detached from the pain. He was floating above himself, watching. He could see someone who was standing there, watching, crying, and screaming in commiseration. _What the hell? _He thought, and floated over to get a closer look. It was Harry, eyes wide in terror and agony. Suddenly, he darted forward, blocking Draco's body from the curses with his own, trying to comfort the still screaming form on the wall, doing anything to help relieve the pain.  
  
_What is he doing? Why is he helping me?_ He thought incredulously.  
  
_You were in pain, and I wanted it to stop_. Harry floated next to Draco, calmly watching what was happening. He watched as his other self tried to stop Lestrange and Nott from hurting Draco, but his hands passed right through their arms.  
  
_What are you doing here? Weren't you bleeding to death a little while ago?  
  
You called for me, and I came_ Harry answered simply. They stood there, in silence, as the entirety of Draco's memories of that night replayed itself in front of them. Draco gasped when he watched Harry come in on his broom and rescued him from certain death.  
  
_You saved me when even my own GODFATHER didn't do anything to help. Why, and don't give me that 'I'm bored and had nothing better to do' shit. Tell me.  
  
Honestly, I was being ignored and beaten by my relatives every summer after coming back from Hogwarts. I wanted to get out of that house before it could start up again. Also, I may have disliked you, but I didn't hate you, and I knew that if I didn't do something, you would have died. You may have pissed me off, but I never wanted you dead. Plus, it pissed off Voldemort. But, the true reason is that I really don't want you to die._ He lightly punched Draco's arm. _Besides, if you go, who's gonna make my life a living hell, and by extension, interesting?  
_  
Draco wrapped his arms around Harry. _Thank you,_ he whispered over and over, burying his face in the crook of Harry's shoulder.  
  
_I would have never even considered another course of action,_ he replied, and hugged Draco back.  
  
_So, now I know, now I know that my father was willing to let me die for his Half blood master,_ whispered Draco brokenly. Harry remained silent and let the other boy cry.  
  
_ I promise, Draco, no one is ever going to hurt you like that again. I won't let them. You have my word.  
_  
  
  
All in all, Dudley was having, he was certain, the worst summer of his life. First, his father, the asshole bastard, disowns him for something he has no control over whatsoever. Next, he's stuck in freaksville, learning how to control his powers from the biggest freak of them all, Albus Dumbledore. _But I'm a freak, too. I don't want to be a freak! MAKE IT STOP!  
  
_ He sighed, resting his head against the mirror in his bathroom. It just wasn't his fault. The worst of it happened five days ago. He had been reading a book, and had gone to get another one from the back section of the library. As soon as he had opened that one, Moste Potente Hexes, it had started shrieking at an ear splitting volume. All he had wanted was for the book to shut up, not for every book to catch on fire and turn to dust. The stone columns had exploded, too, raining debris everywhere. Oh, that lady had been furious, Madam Pinch or whatever her name was. She had chased him down three flights of stairs before giving up, screaming the whole way about damage to priceless books. It wasn't like there had been any permanent damage, though. He had gone in there just this morning and everything was the way it had been before.  
  
Then, yesterday, the suit of armor had grabbed his arm, and he had panicked again. The next thing he knew, the damn armor had exploded in an inferno. He'd gotten it for that one, too. Dumbledore had lectured him about how important it was to not use his powers when he was scared. _Geez, that old bat. Who the hell does he think he is, anyway! I'd rather be learning with my cousin. His teacher is so pretty, and she's so smart, too. I bet she could help me,_ he mused, gazing into his reflection's eyes.  
  
One thing was for certain, Dudley thought as he turned the gold knob, these freaks sure know how to decorate. Luke warm water gushed from the gold faucet into the onyx marble sink. He splashed water on his face and washed his hands, drying himself off on the thick, maroon cotton towels. "Why me?" he moaned aloud, sinking down to sit on the grey stone floor. "What did I do to deserve this? Why can't I be normal?" He closed his eyes.  
  
"Hello, dearie. I think you are overreacting a little. You are making too much of a fuss over nothing." His eyes snapped opened.  
  
"Who said that? Who's there?" he screeched, struggling to his feet and looking about for the source of the voice.  
  
"Why me, of course, the mirror. Up here, dearie."  
  
"You can talk? Please let this be a joke! Ha-ha, funny, Harry, you've gotten me back, you can come out now." He frantically began searching the room for a hidden camera, a tape recorder, anything that could explain this.  
  
"Of course. All the mirrors here talk, silly boy. Haven't they taught you anything? As I was saying, you are really taking this way too seriously. You are related to the most powerful wizard ever born. Of course you won't be normal." Dudley felt his blood pressure spike. His damn cousin. It all boiled down to him. His vision turned red at the edges, and the temperature in the bathroom jumped forty degrees. The mirror continued to prattle on, oblivious to Dudley's growing fury. "-and she said that Harry Potter is the only wizard who can defeat Lord Voldemort."  
  
CRACK. A huge crevice appeared running through the center of the mirror, just before it exploded into billions of pieces. The miniscule shards melted, then pooled on the floor.  
  
Petunia rushed in. "Dudley! I- AAAUUGH!" she screamed, throwing herself backwards to escape the lethal heat emanating from Dudley's body. She ran to the fireplace and threw in a handful of Floo Powder. "ALBUS DUMBLEDORE!" she shrieked. Without warning, Fawkes burst from the fireplace and landed on Dudley.  
  
Petunia stared at the gorgeous bird. _Where did THAT come from? _she wondered, and then screamed as Dumbledore grabbed her shoulder. She whirled around.  
  
"What seems to be the-" he took in her burned face and arms, Fawkes sitting on a human torch, and the steadily rising temperature in the room. Thinking quickly, he grabbed Petunia around the waist and Flooed her to the Hospital Wing. He deposited her on a bed, summoned Madam Pomfrey, and Flooed back to their rooms.  
  
Dudley was a fiery, floating ball in the center of the room. "Make it stop, make it stop, please GOD make it stop," He chanted over and over. The room was well over a thousand degrees. It took every bit of strength Dumbledore had to keep himself cool enough to function. The furniture and wall hangings had been incinerated, and the carpet was nothing more than a smoky ash. The mirror was still a bubbling puddle on the bathroom floor.  
  
"Dudley Dursley! What is the meaning of this?" Dumbledore asked him gently. Dudley cracked one eye open then squeezed it shut again.  
  
"Can you make it stop? Please sir, I don't want to be a freak. I don't want my da- da- dad to hu- hu- hate me! Please, make it go away!!!" he wailed, fire flaring around him.  
  
"CALM DOWN." Dumbledore thundered. Dudley's eyes sprang open. He stared at the Headmaster in shock.  
  
"I want to go HOME!" he shrieked the last word and the walls themselves lit on fire.  
  
"You have to calm down. You burned your mother, and have destroyed everything in this room. You are out of control and need to calm down. You cannot go home until you learn how to control your powers. We have gone over this. You are not a freak, you are gifted with magic."  
  
"MY DADDY SAID I AM A FREAK! I WAN - WAN - WANT MY DADDY! I WANT HIM TO LOVE ME AGAIN!!!!"  
  
"DUDLEY DURSLEY!!!" The walls shook from the force of Dumbledore's voice. Dudley stopped screaming and the fires gradually receded. "You are emanating enough power to destroy this castle and everyone in it. Your mother is still here. You wouldn't want to hurt her, would you? Come on, calm down. Calm down." Dudley ignored him, the fire growing hotter.  
  
Dumbledore sighed._ I could use a little help here. He isn't going to calm down, and I can't move him anywhere or he might blow up Hogwarts. Alanna, Xander, Severus, where are you when you're needed?  
_  
  
  
Elsewhere in the castle, Alanna and Xander stopped in their tracks. _Oh shit. What's happening now?_ Waves of terror crashed into them, making them stagger and clutch each other for support. Without a second thought, they disapparated.  
  
  
  
Severus Snape, walking towards Dumbledore's office, suddenly collapsed as waves of terror and agony washed over him. _Oh GOD make it stop!_ he thought deliriously. Draco. Something was terribly wrong with his Godson. _I'm not going to fail you again,_ he vowed, and disapparated with a POP.  
  
  
  
Harry awoke slowly, a blinding light shining in his eyes. He could hear someone moaning softly beside him. Ignoring the spikes of pain shooting through his head, he rolled over. _Draco, hang on. It's gonna be all right._ His soul mate lay beside him on the grass, sweat and tears streaming down his pallid face.  
  
_Draco?_ Harry thought hesitantly. There was no answer. He propped himself up on his elbows, and scooted himself over to the unconscious boy. Something compelled him to put his fingertips to Draco's temples. He pushed with his mind, and could FEEL Draco's consciousness. Draco? He thought nervously.  
  
_ Harry? Where are you? Why did you leave?  
  
Draco!!! You're all right!_ Harry yelled, relieved.  
  
_ Ouch, too loud._ Draco mentally winced. Harry grinned, happy to hear him again.  
  
_Hey, I can feel your emotions..._ Draco trailed off in wonder.  
  
_ I can feel yours, too. Didn't Alanna say this wouldn't happen?_ Harry asked, confused.  
  
_ Come back. Don't leave me here, alone. I can't deal with this by myself,_ Draco pleaded.  
  
I _don't know how. Wait; put your fingertips on my temples._ Draco lethargically raised his arm and put his hand on the side of Harry's face. They pushed, together, and felt something click into place in the backs of their minds. All of a sudden they could feel everything about each other: their hopes, dreams, and fears, their most private thoughts. Everything was laid bare for the other to see. _WHAT THE HELL???_ they both screamed and tried to withdraw from the terrifying contact. They found they couldn't, and stared at each other, humiliated and scared witless.  
  
_Umm, ok... this is too much information. Sensory overload, here! _Harry muttered, trying not to pry and embarrass Draco further.  
  
_ I couldn't agree more, Harry. This is too much. Ok, we got into this. We can get out, right?_ Draco asked hopefully. They heard three distinct POP'S, and whipped around.  
  
Alanna and Xander stood together, and Uncle Sev/Professor Snape stood behind them. _Help us, please! We're stuck and can't get out of each other's minds!_ They babbled hysterically, all dignity forgotten in their desperation.  
  
_ WHAT?_ Alanna and Xander snickered, and Uncle Sev/ Snape looked confused. _What were you two doing? Having fun, now, were we? _Harry blanched and stiffened at the insinuation.  
  
_Oh hell,_ thought Draco as Harry's memories threatened to surface yet again. _Potter, snap out of it!_ he mentally yelled. _Come on Harry, she doesn't know. You can't keep reacting like this. He isn't ever going to hurt you again, I promise. I won't let him. _He felt Harry calm down and finally relax. _That's it, Harry. No one is ever going to hurt you like that again. No one is ever going to touch you without your permission. I will make sure of that.  
  
No,_ thought Harry and Draco simultaneously. _We weren't doing anything. Harry/I put his/my hands on my/Draco's face because I/he was still unconscious and not responding to his/my calls. Then he/I told me/Draco to put my/his hands on his/my temples, and we pushed at the same time and now we're stuck! HELP!  
_  
_ Umm, that's weird. I've never heard of a bond being completed without a physical relationship._ Xander stared thoughtfully at the two. _How the hell did that happen?_ He asked Alanna privately._ I've never heard of two soul mates who aren't twins, yet are not meant to have a relationship. That doesn't make sense, unless, _he turned to study the two teens. _'Lana, remember when I got you back, how our bond intensified until you felt safe?  
  
Yes, but what does that have to do with anything? Oh, wait, that's right. Do you think they have been sharing memories?  
  
Draco, have you two been sharing memories?_ Xander gently asked them. _I don't want to pry, but if either or both of you have had very traumatic experiences, you could have bonded until the person suffering feels safe again.  
_  
Harry and Draco nodded. That did make sense. _Oh boy, looks like we're in for the long haul, then. I doubt you are going to feel safe for a while, _they remarked to each other, and then laughed.  
  
_ I am fine, but I am worried about you, _Harry chided Draco. _Your dad is an asshole for hurting you.  
  
Harry, my problems are nothing compared to yours. I swear I am going to kill your uncle. He makes my father and Voldemort look like saints. At least they just want to kill you. Your uncle is scum.  
  
You know, Draco, Voldemort was wrong, in the Department of Mysteries. There are fates worse than death, that make death preferable, and sometimes, welcome,_Harry thought bitterly, feeling phantom hands running over him. He shivered. Draco hugged him, and they both became acutely aware of how their positions must look to the others. They were lying on the ground, Harry half on top of Draco, and now Draco was hugging him. Harry laughed and sat up, pulling Draco with him. _No wonder they wondered!_ gasped Harry, laughing hysterically out loud.  
  
All of a sudden, Harry gasped, pain and anger lancing through his mind. Beside him Draco did the same, both of them feeling the same thing. _Oh SHIT! _thought Draco desperately, _what the hell is going on?_ He noticed, vaguely, that Alanna, Xander and Severus were feeling the same thing._ We have to GO NOW!_ thought Draco desperately. Alanna nodded, and a second later they were all in a large, bare, and unbearably hot room. Harry launched himself at what looked to be a floating ball of fire.  
  
"DUDLEY!!!" he screamed, all thoughts focused on his cousin. Glaring, he turned to Dumbledore. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!!!" he bellowed, his deep green aura flaring. He formed a protective barrier around him and his cousin. Dumbledore tried to protest, but Draco cut him off.  
  
"Just shove it, Dumbledore. You always make things a hundred times worse." He joined Harry and strengthened the barrier with his own aura. An incandescent aura with swirls of light blue and deep green effectively cut Dudley, Harry, and Draco off from everyone else in the room.  
  
"Come on, Dudley." Harry spoke and thought simultaneously. Flaring a protective ring of fire around him, he reached through Dudley's flames and grabbed his hand. Draco did the same on the other side. _Come on, Dudley, let us in,_ they thought as one, drawing on each other for strength and support.  
  
"Harry, why are we doing this?" asked Draco curiously. "I mean, didn't he hurt you for a long time? Why are we helping one of your tormentors?"  
  
"We are helping because Dumbledore is incompetent and I don't want Hogwarts to blow up. Also, because it's the right thing to do."  
  
"Your first two reasons are ok, but the last one sucks, just to let you know." Draco grinned and they redoubled their efforts.  
  
_DUDLEY!_ They both screamed mentally. They almost wept in relief when they felt Dudley's mind stir, and respond.  
  
_Oh look, it's my asinine cousin, and the freaky blond that he rescued. What the hell do you want?_ Dudley snottily asked.  
  
_First of all, it's your asinine DEMIGOD cousin, and his freaky DEMIGOD blond. Get it right!_ Draco spat. Harry grinned.  
  
_ So sorry, cuz, he hasn't had his coffee yet. Oh, we came in to tell you to WAKE UP AND KNOCK THE SHIT OFF!!!!_ Harry bellowed, making Dudley wince and crack an eye open.  
  
_Who died and left you in charge?_ he asked irritably. Tears clouded his vision, and he withdrew again. _You wouldn't understand. None of you do. I just want to be normal. Make this go away, make it stop. I don't wanna be a freak anymore. I thought the fire was cool, until they all started yelling at me for using it.  
  
Dudley, I've been called a freak all my life. Now, I just found out that I'm an even bigger freak than I thought I was. I know exactly how you feel. Come on, drop the fire. It's getting old.  
_  
Dudley's face screwed up, preparing to throw a tantrum. I_ DON'T WANNA BE A FREAK!!! I WANT MY DADDY TO LOVE ME AGAIN!!!! WHY CAN'T YOU PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT???_ Harry winced.  
  
_What did he do?_ Draco asked quietly.  
  
_He disowned me, and called me a freak and hit me, then he hit Mom, and he made her cry, then she found out about him hurting Harry THAT WAY and I had to remember that he tried to hurt me THAT WAY and I just want to forget again, but I don't know how!_ Dudley wailed, tears streaming down his face.  
  
_ He did WHAT???_ Harry roared. _I'M GONNA KILL THAT FUCKTARD!!!_  
  
_ HARRY, CAN IT! _roared Draco. Harry immediately calmed down.  
  
_Hmm, that could come in handy, the ability to influence your emotions like that. Anyway, Dudley, do you know what my dad did to me? I thought he loved me, he said he would always accept me, and he had me tortured. He chose his 'master' over me. When I refused to join Voldemort, he let them slice off parts of my skin and break almost all my bones and burn me. They did that for almost fifteen hours straight, and they sent what they were doing to me, to Harry, to haunt his dreams. He did rescue me, and he saved my life. Your father raped Harry from the time he was three and a half until just before he got his acceptance letter. So, we both know how you feel. Trust me, your father doesn't deserve your love, and if he cannot accept who you are then don't bother.  
  
_ Dudley stared at Harry. _What do you mean, until his acceptance letter came?_ he asked, finally. I_ didn't tell Mom, but I heard what happened on your fifteenth birthday, when-  
  
DUDLEY, SHUT UP!_ Harry screamed, his face white. _I- I-  
_  
_ Harry?_ Draco purred dangerously._ What is your cousin talking about?  
_  
_ I'm talking about how, every summer, on his birthday, Dad would go to Harry's room, and - and, do - you know... and then He would leave and tell Harry happy birthday as he left. He used to do it every Christmas, Easter, Halloween, New Year's, and every other major holiday, too. I knew it was happening, but I heard it after my parents moved him into the second bedroom where I used to keep all my toys. Dad would dope Mom with sleeping pills so he could get away with it. He knew I knew, and I knew what would happen to me if I told anyone, so I didn't.  
_  
Draco stared at Harry, mouth open in shock. Harry hung his head in shame. _So it stopped just before your acceptance letter, huh? Right.  
  
I'm sorry, _whispered Harry. _I just didn't want anyone to worry.  
_  
Dudley slowly uncurled and the fire died. "Harry, I'm so sorry. I should have told someone, but I was so scared. I even made my dad and I forget that I could do magic because he told me I was a freak, just like you and that he punishes freaks because they don't deserve to live." He met Harry's anguish filled eyes with anguish in his own. "Please, don't blame Mom. She didn't know, and she's divorcing Vernon because of this. You have got to believe me. She had no idea."  
  
"I don't blame her." Harry said softly. He shook his head, and pulled on his Gryffindor Golden Boy mask. "Come on, put on your game face. We gotta go convince them that we aren't crazy." The three of them laughed sadly, and erased all tears and sadness.  
  
"Right, let's do this." Dudley released the hold he had on his magic, and they all took a deep breath.  
  
Draco glared at Harry. _This isn't over, Potter. You lied to me.  
_  
"Oh, before I drop the aura, Dudley, we have training every day in the Room of Requirement from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Would you like to join us tomorrow?" Draco asked.  
  
Dudley grinned. "Is your teacher the hot one?" he asked.  
  
"Hey, that's our sister." Harry and Draco mock warned then laughed. "I take it you are in agreement?"  
  
"HELL yes." Still laughing, Harry and Draco dropped the aura and they stepped out into the room.  
  
Alanna and Xander rushed forward. Severus couldn't rush to his Godson because he was too busy trying to restrain the rather peeved Headmaster. "Are you all right? They asked anxiously. Harry, Draco, and Dudley nodded.  
  
"We're fine," stated Harry firmly, with a hint of a smile. Dumbledore relaxed.  
  
"Let go of me," he commanded Severus. Severus immediately stopped restraining him and stepped out of his way. Dumbledore walked regally toward the three boys.  
  
"I trust you are in control of yourself, Mr. Dursley, and that there will be no further outbursts?" he quietly demanded an answer.  
  
"Ye- yes sir. I promise I won't do it again." Dudley, shamefaced, stammered his apology. Harry winked at him and he relaxed.  
  
"Very well, we shall continue our training tomorrow."  
  
"With all due respect, Headmaster," Harry interjected, fighting back a smirk and a snigger, "we invited Dudley to join our training sessions. Seeing as how Xander is a fully trained Fire Elemental, we thought that he would be an excellent choice to teach Dudley how to control his new powers. If you don't mind, that is."  
  
Dumbledore beamed. _Finally I get to get rid of that annoying brat!_ Everyone around him, including Dudley, who was listening in through Harry and Draco, choked. "I agree wholeheartedly, Harry. Dudley would benefit from training with you and the others."  
  
"Good! I would be happy to teach you everything I know about controlling the element fire!" Xander enthusiastically replied. Severus had visions of Dudley using his ability to torch Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, Gringotts, and other places.  
  
_ God help us all, _thought Draco and Severus in unison.  
  
_HEY! I wouldn't blow up OUR monuments! Maybe the White House or the Taj Mahal..._Dudley stared dreamily off into space, dreaming about burning buildings. Harry groaned and shook his head.  
  
"Um, Professor Dumbledore? If everything is taken care of, can we go? Do you need us for anything else?" Harry asked politely, _you sadistic old coot_ added after that. Draco and Dudley choked back a laugh.  
  
"Of course. I will see all of you later for dinner. Severus, the meeting was cancelled due to the problems with Dudley, so enjoy your afternoon." Somberly, they all exited the Headmaster's office. Once past the gargoyle, Harry and Draco started howling with laughter.  
  
"Oh Merlin! His face was priceless! Uncle Sev, we should piss him off more often!" Draco gasped, holding his sides from the pain of laughing so hard. He turned to Severus and stopped laughing immediately. Severus was staring at Harry stonily, as were Alanna and Xander.  
  
"Harry, oh hell, I don't want anyone overhearing us." Severus said. Harry immediately stopped laughing and tensed. _Harry, what in HELL did your cousin mean about your uncle hurting you?_ Severus asked as calmly as he could. Harry looked as if he were about to cry, throw up, and faint all rolled into one.  
  
_Yes, Harry, what in HELL did he mean?_ Alanna and Xander asked as one, echoing Severus. Draco slung a protective arm around Harry's shoulders, and Dudley stood in front of them.  
  
_ It isn't any of your business!_ Dudley yelled, fists clenched. Immediately, they found themselves outside, right in front of the lake, exactly where Harry had just almost killed himself. Harry looked at the ground. He was standing on the bloodstains. Dudley let out a squeak of surprise, but stood his ground, determined.  
  
_HARRY POTTER, ANSWER US!!!! _the three adults bellowed. Harry started to cry and backed away from them.  
  
_No, no, NO! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!!!! _he screamed and ran back into the castle. After he had taken only two steps, Alanna threw her hand out and Harry shot into the air. He was wrenched backwards, fighting the whole way. "NO NONONONONO!" he screamed, his powers coming into play. With a bellow of rage, he slammed Alanna backwards. She flew almost fifteen feet before Xander caught her.  
  
"YOU HURT MY MATE!" He roared, and picked Harry up again, then threw him into the closest oak tree. Harry crumpled, and Draco sprang forward.  
  
"YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!" Draco picked Xander up in a whirlwind and threw him into the lake. The giant squid, which had been basking peacefully nearby, playfully grabbed at him, and the enraged demigod threw the squid at Draco. Harry froze the squid in midair and made the earth buckle and quake. A thirty-foot tiger formed out of stone. Harry quickly sicced the stone cat on the opposition. With a roar, the giant cat attacked Xander and Alanna and batted them both into the lake. Harry then dropped the squid on them. They came up, sputtering, a few minutes later, extreme expressions of pain on their faces. They flew up from the water, covering their ears in agony.  
  
"Oh, it burns!" Alanna moaned. Xander moaned in agreement.  
  
"Am I bleeding? Who knew sound carried so well under water." Moaning Myrtle arose behind them, screeching "The Marriage of Figaro" at the top of her 'dead' lungs.  
  
"FIGARRRO FIGGGARRROOOO! FIGGARRRROOOOOO!" she howled, sounding as if Professor McGonagall, in her cat form, had had her tail stepped on. All the windows on the East side of the castles exploded as she hit an earth shattering high note. Harry, Draco, Dudley, and Snape slammed their hands on their ears, moaning and screaming in pain.  
  
"OH MY GOD, will she SHUT UP???" Harry cried, rocking back and forth in agony. Xander summoned the poor squid and threw it at her. The squid went right through her, and hit the east wall of Hogwarts. Gryffindor Tower rocked and swayed. With a loud groan, it tipped and fell over. Harry could hear screams from inside. _Oh shit, Ron and Hermione!  
  
_ Alanna and Xander shot towards the tower and caught it. They pushed it back upright. One of the up most windows opened and two heads poked out. "What the hell is going on? Leave us out of it!" The window slammed shut.  
  
Moaning Myrtle let out a loud cry at the squid slamming through her. She immediately stopped 'singing' and pouted at them. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
"That wasn't very nice," she hissed at them. With an ear-exploding shriek, she turned and dove head first into the lake. A huge tidal wave erupted around her exit, slamming into everyone. Harry suddenly found himself and Dudley twenty feet above ground in the middle branches of the oak tree. Draco was floating out of harms way a few hundred feet above them. Turning around, Harry craned his neck and saw Snape peeling himself off of the wall of Hagrid's stone hut over one hundred yards away. Alanna and Xander were still floating next to Hogwarts.  
  
Harry brought him and Dudley back down to the ground. Immediately, Draco and Severus wrapped their powers around him, immobilizing him. _NO! Draco! LET ME GO!!!! _screamed Harry. _Let me go, please let me go!_ He begged over and over. Alanna, Severus, and Xander came and stood right in front of him. He felt Draco wrap his arms around him and hold him tightly.  
  
_ Harry, it is time, you have to tell someone. Come on, tell them. They can help you. Come on, Alanna knows what you went through,_ Draco pleaded with him.  
  
_Harry, what did your uncle do to you? _Severus asked quietly. Harry stiffened and he glared suspiciously at the three in front of him.  
  
_You already know he hissed angrily. Somehow, you know. Why are you going to make me say it, when you already know?_ Tears streamed down his face, and he angrily brushed them away. _So, if you already know, what are you going to do about it?_ He hissed and stood up, breaking the bonds that held him.  
  
_ Hmmm_ thought Severus sarcastically, _there was my turning his dick into a bunny rabbit, and the fact that whenever he even thinks of another person in a sexual manner the rabbit starts biting him. I dunno, what could we do?  
_  
"Ssssssssshit" Harry swore in Parseltongue. Alanna raised her eyebrows.  
  
"Where did you learn that language?" She asked curiously. Harry laughed, a bitter, hate filled sound. Draco cringed.  
  
"Voldemort. He 'taught' me when I was a baby. One of the many skills he is known for is Parseltongue, and some of his powers were transferred to me when he tried to kill me that first time." He turned and strode angrily away, then turned back to them and spat over his shoulder. "So, now what? Yes, my uncle called me a worthless freak and liked to use that as an excuse to kick the shit out of me. Yes, he is a child molester. Yes, he has raped" Alanna shuddered "me since I did my first bit of will magic at age three and a half. He hasn't stopped since then, and my magic doesn't stop him from hurting me. What the fuck are you going to do about it?" he asked bitterly. Turning back around, he strode angrily back into the castle.  
  
"I hope you're happy now. He's pissed and really suicidal." Draco said, glaring at them before he sprinted after Harry, catching up to him right before they walked through the entrance. Dudley followed them at a slower pace.  
  
"I'm going to go find my mom." he called over his shoulder.  
  
"Potter is one screwed up kid," commented Snape sadly. The other two nodded. "How the hell did he wind up in Gryffindor, instead of my house?" Alanna turned to him, confused. They watched as Harry and Draco shot out of an upstairs window on their brooms at a breakneck speed. They sped off over the Forbidden Forest.  
  
"Your house is Slytherin, right?" Severus nodded. "Harry is a dead ringer for Salazar Slytherin. What the hell is he doing in Gryffindor?"  
  
"WHAT?" Snape snapped, giving her his full attention. Xander nodded thoughtfully.  
  
"True, 'Lana. Except, Harry is much more powerful than Sal. However, they have the same personality, same characteristics. Both of them are incredibly good actors, able to hide their true personalities and feelings. Both of them are cunning, and place unnecessary burdens on themselves. How Harry got into Gryffindor is beyond me." Xander murmured to himself as he thoughtfully tossed a fireball back and forth between his hands. On a whim, he tossed it to Severus, who caught it and threw it back, as well as one of his own. Xander added another one and was juggling three balls of fire.  
  
Still juggling, Xander mused, "I wonder how he did it." He frowned for a second as one of the balls slipped, and then his face broke into a sunny grin. "You know, we do have to go after them at some point. Severus, how would you like a broom?"  
  
Severus smiled fleetingly. _I do miss playing chaser _he thought to himself. Alanna caught that thought and smiled. "I would like one. May I ask how you make them? They are incredibly beautiful..." _and fast, and turn on a dime, and move with you almost telepathically,_ he trailed off, lost in thought.  
  
"Actually, they do move telepathically, if you can bond with your broom. It's quite easy, since they are made from part of your aura." Alanna smirked. _Flare your aura so we know how to make it.  
_  
"What? Do what?" Severus asked, confused.  
  
"You know, power up. Flare your aura?" Xander repeated. Severus still looked confused. "You've never flared before, have you?" Xander asked him. Severus shook his head.  
  
_Ok, watch and learn, little brother._ Alanna and Xander slowly pushed their auras out of their skin, and then looked expectantly at Severus. Taking a deep breath, he copied them. A brilliant silver glow shot out of his skin.  
  
"Oh wow" Alanna said enviously. She circled Severus like a hawk. "Oh my, that is so beautiful. So this means that Laurel is pure gold. I am so jealous of you. I wish I were a mind elemental." She finally stopped circling. Severus blushed slightly, having never been called beautiful in his life.  
  
"Um, thank you, I think." he replied bemusedly. He watched in awe as Alanna and Xander held their hands together. A pure silver broom appeared between them. _Oh my GOD this is incredible. _They handed him the broom with matching grins. _Thank you so much. This is perhaps the nicest thing anyone has done for me. _On a whim, he hugged them both. They broke apart, and Severus mounted his broom to go find Harry and Draco after testing the broom's capabilities.  
  
"Yes, we know. If we tell anyone that you have a heart, you'll hunt us down and kill us." Alanna mocked. Severus laughed.  
  
"Actually, now that I don't have to act like an asshole to keep up appearances, I think that people are going to be pleasantly surprised at my personality transformation." He kicked off and shot into the air. _WHOOOOO HOOOO! THIS IS GREAT!  
  
_ Alanna and Xander grinned at each other. "Another satisfied customer" she commented drolly. Xander nodded in agreement, laughing at the dour Potions Master's antics in midair.  
  
  
  
Harry flew aimlessly over the Forbidden Forest. Draco struggled to keep up with him. _Harry! Slow down already, would you? I can't keep up!_ Harry ignored him, lost in his thoughts.  
  
_They hate me. They all hate me. It's all my fault. Why the hell did they have to find out? Now they hate me and it's all my fault. It's all my fault that Sirius died, it's all my fault that I'm a freak, it's all my fault that I couldn't stop my uncle. It's all my fault that my parents died. Everyone I love dies and it's all my fault. I want to die, but then the entire Wearing World will be destroyed. Oh God, why couldn't I have died with my parents?_  
  
Draco finally caught up with him. Harry was flying in circles over a particular area of the forest. Looking down, Draco saw a clearing with a small waterfall feeding a pond. Sighing, he grabbed Harry's broom and forced him to land. Harry heavily collapsed, falling from his broom and sliding onto the ground in a heap. He sat there and didn't even notice Draco sitting across from him.  
  
_ Hey, Potter. You are wrong, you know. No one hates you, except for Moldywart. Do you really call him that? It fits you know. He has this HUGE wart on the side of his chin, and it is decaying. It is so gross._ Draco tried to cheer Harry up, but nothing worked. Eventually, Harry's depression got to Draco and he sat there, too, lost in his own depressing thoughts.  
  
_You know, Potter, we should start our own pity club. It's for people that feel worthless and miserable. You and I could be co-presidents. Let's see. Weaseley could join because he's poor, and that's just sad. Longbottom could join because he's a pathetic squib. Crabbe and Goyle could join because they share a brain cell. Parkinson could join because she's an ugly bitch that can't get laid. Bulstrode could join because she looks like a really ugly guy. Chang could join because her boyfriend died two years ago and she's still crying.  
_  
Harry finally looked up at that. _And that's all my fault. She's upset and miserable because of me. _Kill the spare echoed hollowly through his mind. He shivered. Draco hugged him, but Harry pushed him away. _You know, you can't be a president. The club is for worthless people only, and you aren't worthless.  
  
Then why did my dad abandon me? Why did he choose that monster over his own child? Why would he do that if I have some sort of worth? He watched them skin me alive, and he did nothing! He even cheered them on! He let them hurt me and he did nothing!_ Draco softly started to cry. Harry immediately forgot about his own problems to comfort the other boy.  
  
_ Damn, what a sorry pair we make. Both of us are suicidal, yet trying to convince the other that their is a reason to live._ Draco sniffed and grinned.  
  
_ I know my reason to live. It's to kill Voldemort. After that, nothing matters. I can finally die like I want to. Maybe I'll get to see my family again, _Harry thought bitterly.  
  
_ If you go, I'll go too. It would be inevitable, you know. If I felt you die, I would die too. Even now, only being bonded this close for less than an hour, I'm already used to having you here. If you go, it'll kill me. I cannot imagine not having you in the back of my head._ Draco hunched his knees to his chest, suddenly vulnerable.  
  
Harry sighed. _Fine. If I promise to not kill myself will you realize that your dad is wrong about you?  
  
Only if you promise to try to realize that Voldemort is responsible for their deaths and you are not responsible for what your uncle did to you. It is not your fault. None of it is. Sirius may not even be dead, and you are not responsible for Cedric or your parents, either. Voldemort killed them, Voldemort is responsible. NOT YOU! _Draco shook Harry by the shoulders. _What do I have to say in order to convince you?  
_  
Harry looked up hopefully. _Can you give me either Sirius or my parents back? I don't ever want to go back there again. If I have one of them, then I won't have to. Otherwise, Dumbledore'll send me back.  
  
_ Draco was at a loss. _Umm, I'm pretty sure I can pull Sirius Black, he's pretty resourceful. If he fell into Hell, I'm fairly certain he is still alive. Your parents have been dead for almost sixteen years. That'll be a little harder to pull. Harry hugged him.  
  
Thank you. I have a shot of getting out of there, don't I? Draco nodded, a lump in his throat as Harry's hope sprang back into life. _Draco actually felt his mood lifting. He stood up and stripped down to his jeans, which he transfigured into swim trunks.  
  
_Hey, since we are here and all, let's go swimming._ Harry nodded and transfigured his jeans into swim trunks also. They quickly hopped in.  
  
_ Hey! It's so warm!_ Harry was amazed. _It must be fed by a hot spring or something._ Floating above the water, he followed the stream to where it bubbled out of the earth. Harry called to Draco _Hey, come up here! It's really cool! _Within seconds, Draco had joined him. They waded into the hot spring, then sat down and relaxed. _Ahh, that hits the spot. This is better than a Jacuzzi!_ Harry sank blissfully into the steaming water.  
  
_What's a Jacuzzi?_ Draco asked, curious.  
  
_ Muggle invention. Very similar to a hot spring, but it is artificially made. Has jets of water that are really nice for sore muscles._ Harry explained, sharing his one memory of being in a Jacuzzi with Draco. It had been nice until his uncle had found him. Then all hell had broken loose.  
  
Harry and Draco both heard a soft noise and their auras were instantly flared, encompassing the entirety of the spring. They both tensed in the water, all relaxation forgotten. Severus Snape stepped from the shadows, hands held up in a calming gesture.  
  
"It's just me" he called softly, then stared at the sight of them lounging in the spring. Draco smirked and probed his mind.  
  
_Uncle Sev, is that really you?_ he asked. Severus chuckled wryly.  
  
_What do I have to do in order to prove who I am?_ He asked simply. Draco thought a minute. Harry interjected.  
  
_Where did you two go on his eighth birthday?_ Harry asked. Draco and Severus looked at him in surprise, and then Draco nodded.  
  
_Well, let's see. Your eighth birthday. Your parents had left for Morocco and your father had entrusted you to my care. We went for your first time into the Muggle world. We went to New York City, stayed at The Plaza and acted like a couple of tourists. We saw the World Trade Center being built, the Statue of Liberty, toured the Metropolitan museum of Art, and visited the largest toy store in the world. I remember I had to drag you out of there after buying you almost half the store and letting you play for over six hours. I had to swear you to secrecy so your father wouldn't find out that I had let you within a hundred yards of Muggles, let alone played trains with them. You loved trains. I still have your-  
  
Enough, Sev._ Draco was blushing, his alabaster skin a dusky pink. Harry laughed.  
  
"Aw, does Widdle Dwaco wuv Choo choos? Aw, how cute!" Harry smirked and simpered. Draco scowled.  
  
"Stuff it, Potter," he growled menacingly. Harry formed a large Thomas the Train set in midair and sent in running around the edge of the aura. Draco sank even lower into the spring, mortified. "Potter I'm warning you, knock it off!" Harry just laughed. Draco snapped his hand out, and Harry's nose was transfigured into a train engine. Severus laughed, and Draco let him through the aura.  
  
"BUCK! DA BUCK!" Harry quickly transfigured his nose back to normal. Severus quickly turned his pants into swim trunks and joined them, soaking in the incredible water.  
  
"Oh wow, this is wonderful" Severus lay there, completely relaxed. "How did you find this place? I've been collecting Potions ingredients from this forest for over twenty years and I have never come across this place. I definitely have to remember this," he mused, sinking even lower into the water.  
  
"It's all Potter's fault. He wouldn't wait for me, so I finally grabbed his broom and forced him to the ground. We found the waterfall and the pool, then he had to go exploring. I think you should give him detention." Draco lazily swirled his hand in the water.  
  
"Sure, why not. Ok, Potter, here's your detention. Every week, you, me, and Draco have to come here. Sound fair?" A soft snore answered him. Harry was floating, asleep.  
  
Concerned, Severus started to shake his shoulder, but Draco held up a hand. "Don't wake him," he said softly. "Today has taken a lot out of him." Severus sank back, keeping an eye on the slumbering Gryffindor. Draco reached over and removed Harry's glasses and pocketed them for safekeeping.  
  
"What happened?" he asked, finally. Draco gazed sadly at Harry, and then started talking.  
  
"Sev, he tried to kill himself today. He was cutting his wrists, and he didn't heal. He must really want to die for his magic not to kick in and heal him. There was so much blood, and he scared me so badly. I could feel him bleeding and in pain, and I came running" Severus was about to say something, but Draco cut him off. "Please, just let me talk."  
  
"Harry thinks everything is his fault. The abuse, his being raped, his parents dying, Cedric dying, Sirius falling through the Veil. He thinks that he is here only to kill Voldemort, and after that, he's useless. He is scared that everyone that he loves will die. His uncle has really screwed him up, and I don't know what to do. I can feel everything he has gone through, and it makes what my dad did to me look normal. His uncle has been hurting him since he was three, and hurts him over the summer when he goes back to that house. We have to get him out of there, especially if we are bonded. Seeing his memories is bad enough. If I actually have to live through that I'll kill the dumb fuck myself. As it is, I'm gonna help Harry kill him." Severus raised his eyebrows.  
  
"I trust you know several nice ways of making him suffer before he dies?" Severus asked carefully. Draco nodded and grinned evilly.  
  
"Oh yes" he replied. "I know several, and even more now that I remember exactly what happened to me." Severus hugged his Godson hard.  
  
"Oh God, Draco, I am so sorry I didn't do anything. I should have stood up to them and gotten you out of there. I failed you."  
  
"Sev, don't be stupid. If you had stood up to them, they would have killed you, too, and then Harry wouldn't have been able to get me out of there. You gotta admit, he never does things by halves. Flying a broom five hours across Britain, rescuing me from the most evil man on the continent, then flying back. It was suicide and he did it."  
  
"That is true. He is exactly like his mother."  
  
"Lily, your best friend? Odd, everyone says he is like his father. He certainly gets his flying skills from him."  
  
"Yes, but James would have never done something like that for one of his best friends, let alone for his worst enemy. Lily would have. Did you know, that's how we became friends?"  
  
"I don't think I've heard this one. Go on, tell."  
  
"Well, it is a long story. I'll give you the shortened version, and tell you both when Potter is a little less sleepy. Basically, we were in this forest in our first year, gathering Potions ingredients for our class. We had been partnered against our will, and like the idiot first years we were, forgot our wands. We were actually the reason that the forest is forbidden. We were fighting like usual, and got lost, in the dark, and couldn't find our way out of the damn forest. We had to stay here over night. I freely admit that if I had been alone, I would not have made it out alive. However, Lily made a fire, and we picked food for both of us to have enough. She even gave me her extra cloak when it started to rain. It seems that she had been a Girl Scout when she was in grade school, and had been camping many times. I, on the other hand, had no idea what to do. Then the next day, she single handedly found the way back out of the forest. You can't exactly hate someone when they save your ass like that." Snape sat there, reminiscing. Draco shook with laughter beside him.  
  
"Uh huh." Draco sniggered. "You had NO idea what to do?" He snorted with laughter.  
  
"Why else do you think I took you camping several times? I didn't want you to have the same thing happen to you. You know, it was a big deal to me. I was lost and scared, and she took care of me." Draco gave up and laughed.  
  
They sat there for hours, just talking and soaking in the still, almost searing water. Harry gradually awoke, feeling content and secure. He yawned and stretched blearily, looking around for his glasses.  
  
"Well, look who decided to rejoin the land of the living! Hey, Potter, have a nice nap?" Draco asked cheekily. Harry smiled sleepily and nodded. Suddenly, his eyes opened wide, and he clutched his forehead.  
  
"Oh SHIT! AAARGH!" Harry yelled, doubled over in pain. Pain lanced through Draco's skull as well. Their combined auras pulsed then dropped to just individually encompass the two boys. Severus, the only one unaffected, stared at them for a second.  
  
_ What the...­ Voldemort. ALANNA! XANDER! _he bellowed. He heard them quickly respond.  
  
_What? What's wrong?_ they asked.  
  
_Voldemort is finally affecting Harry. I need your help- AAARGH!_ Severus felt a crushing pain start in his Mark, then spread through his shoulder. Alanna and Xander quickly apparated to his side. As he blacked out, he saw the two appear. The cavalry has arrived he thought weakly, and then all was black.  
  
Alanna and Xander quickly gathered the brooms and the three unconscious men from the spring. _Hey, this place is nice! Let's extend the wards to cover this place as well! _Alanna cheerfully thought. Xander agreed with her. With a loud POP, they apparated everyone, including their discarded clothing and brooms right into the Hospital Wing. They watched as the three instantly, coming through the wards, relaxed as the pain was shut off. Xander tended to Harry and Draco, while Alanna looked over Severus.  
  
"Hmm that does make sense. Our wards block Harry's bond to that loser, so going outside of them would cause him extreme pain. But Severus...What happened to him?" She gently pried his clenched fingers off of his forearm and saw the Dark Mark. The skin around it was blistered and raw. "Oh my," Alanna murmured. "That looks painful. Odd choice for a tattoo," she mused. "Oh well, in order for me to heal the burns, the tattoo will have to go."  
  
"She stretched her hand over the Mark. Instantly, she could feel the evil emanating from the eyesore. "Oh hell. He's linked to Moldy Voldy as well. This should make things interesting." Gold threads shot from her fingertips and encompassed the Mark. She pushed quickly with her mind, and snapped the link. Dimly, she could hear Voldemort's howl of anguish and fury as the link was ripped out of Severus and snapped back into himself. _Stay away from my family! _she called after the retreating link.  
  
She concentrated again, and the Mark vanished. Severus opened his eyes and stared at the rapidly healing burns. Within seconds, he had unblemished skin. "What? What did you do?" He asked, confused and reeling from the after effects of the pain.  
  
"I hope you didn't like that ugly tattoo. I kind of got rid of it for you. It was in the way of my healing your burns." Severus stared at her incredulously and promptly passed out from shock. "You know," Alanna told Xander, "all of them need some sleep."  
  
"Let's put them in their beds and call it a night. It is almost nine o'clock." The three sleeping figures disappeared, reappearing in their own beds.  
  
  
  
Harry lie there, peacefully sleeping. Suddenly, he shot out of bed. Something was terribly wrong with "Draco!!!" He screamed mentally and physically, leaping out of bed and racing out of the Gryffindor Tower. Ron blearily woke up, and then rolled back over.  
  
"God, Harry" he groused. "Can't you let a bloke get a full night's sleep?" He went back to bed.  
  
  
  
A/N: Hey, yes, I agree whole-heartedly. My characters are definitely OOC. However, they started in character, and the events forced them to change. So, how do you like it? Thank you everyone who reviewed. Your continued support means a lot to me. Damn, nineteen pages and I ain't cutting or changing any of it. Again, enjoy and chapter eight should be up soon.  
  
B/N: Hey all, Annie here. So how was it? Was it good? Gooder than good? I don't think "gooder" is a real word, but what the hey. Yes, I rather liked this one, myself, lots of ha-ha, and oodles of funny. Mmhm, juuuust the way I like it. Pour in a little angstyness and we got a story! Just so you know, the author here is not suicidal, incase anybody was wondering; she just happens to write a lot of shi- I mean stuff like that. Ahem Anyways, where was I? Keep reviewing! Yes, we do accept flames, but if you're gonna send 'em, plan on joining the Witness Protection Program, hear? Mwahahaha- cough cough cough... Sorry, this, uh, cold I have, it's, uh, kinda, bad...yeah. Oh, before I forget, I was reading a story (yes this is becoming one of those bad habits, isn't it?) and the pairings are as follows: Harry/Draco, Crabbe/Neville/Goyle (yes, all three of them), Ron/Pansy, Hermione/Snape. The story line is something like Dumbledore forms two special groups that help him with Order stuff, I think, one is in Gryfinndor, the other is in Slytherin, and after awhile, he joins them together, and that is all I can remember. So if you know this one, please tell Laura, so she can tell me.  
Love ya, byebye! 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8  
  
Harry sprinted out of Gryffindor Tower, clad only in his boxers. One thought echoed through his mind. _Draco, I'm coming! Get to Draco, got to get to Draco._ Without warning, Harry disappeared in mid step and reappeared right in front of the entrance to the Slytherin Common Rooms. He pounded on the wall in between the twin statues of striking serpents. _SEVERUS! OPEN UP!_ he screamed, desperation giving him a hysterical edge. _OH GOD, DRACO! WAKE UP!  
  
Huh? Harry? What are you doing in my dreams?_ came Severus's sleep reply.  
  
Harry paused, finally registering what Severus had said. _EWWWWW! GROSSS!_ he screeched, disgusted.  
  
The wall finally moved and Harry dashed in, almost knocking over a half naked Severus Snape in the process. He ran, letting his instincts guide him through the Slytherin Dorms.  
  
"Potter, you better have an explanation for waking me at this ungodly hour-" A loud, heart rending scream cut off the irate (and rather stacked) Potions master. Severus whipped around and darted after Harry._ Oh SHIT, DRACO!  
_  
They burst into Draco's room. Draco was thrashing around on his bed, screaming and fighting his dreams. Tears streamed down his face. "NO! NO! STOP, PLEASE! DADDY, NO!" he screamed over and over.  
  
Harry dove for the bed and grabbed Draco's shoulders. He pulled the thrashing teen up and cradled him to his chest. Severus was right behind him and they cradled Draco between the two of them.  
  
_May I?_ asked Severus. Harry nodded, and they hesitantly touched each other's temples. Their minds swirled together and they cringed at the intimate contact. _You feel wrong._ They both laughed at the simultaneous thought that had flashed across both of their minds.  
  
_ Ok, I can deal with the strangeness of this situation later. We need to help him, _Harry thought determinedly. Severus nodded, and they flooded Draco's mind through Harry's link to him.  
  
They found themselves, fully clothed, in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor. Right in front of them, Draco hung crucifixion style from the wall by manacles around his wrists.  
  
"Please.... help me...." Draco moaned deliriously  
  
_ Professor, will we be forced to play out the same roles as we did last time?_ Harry thought worriedly.  
  
_ I don't think so. At least, I hope not.  
_  
"Hmmmm. We can't have you missing out on all the fun, can we? Enervate." Draco shot to awareness with a heart rending scream. He arched his back, trying to escape from the manacles, knowing what was about to come.  
  
"You bastard! Let me go! When I get out of here you will regret the day you were ever born, you MUDBLOOD!" Draco raged at Voldemort. "You think you are so special, but I know the truth! Your father was a MUGGLE! How dare you preach blood purity when you are not pure! You-"  
  
His tirade was cut off mid syllable by a quietly furious "Silencio." Voldemort turned and addressed one of his Death Eaters. "Severus, I assume that you have prepared my requested potions?"  
  
The dream Severus responded. "Master, I have, but I have told you before. When the potions are taken together, the unicorn hair interferes with the-"  
  
"Yes, Yes! Just give him the potions!" Voldemort interrupted.  
  
"Yes, My Lord." He approached Draco's struggling form. "My Lord could someone stun him for me? He might knock the vials out of my hands."  
  
Lucius Malfoy raised his wand "Stupefy!" he hissed, still seething over his son's betrayal and refusal of the Dark Mark.  
  
Dream Snape approached Draco's now still form. A look of pain and anguish crosses his face so briefly that Harry is still forced to wonder if he just imagined it. _Yes, you are right. I did have that look on my face, _Snape told him wryly. _I'm lucky that you were the only one who saw that.  
_  
Dream Snape quickly administered the two potions, and then backed away to the far side of the room. Draco slowly began to stir as the effects of the Stupefy wore off.  
  
"Lestrange, Nott! Have you prepared your tools or do you need more time?"  
  
"No, My Lord, we are ready now."  
  
The sounds of a heavy table being wheeled to Draco's semi-conscious form forced Harry and Severus to whirl around from where they were standing. Lestrange and Nott wheeled a cart laden with various strange, lethal looking instruments on it and set it in front of Draco's struggling form. Severus and Harry watched Nott lovingly pick up a long metal stake from the table and expertly begin to heat it with several spells. Within moments, the tip glowed a brilliant white; the next few inches were bright red, and in all over five inches of the stake shimmered with heat. Lestrange picked up a wicked hunting dagger and sharpened it against the whetstone attached to the side of the cart. She then arranged the rest of the table with businesslike precision.  
  
_ Oh HELL no! NOT THIS TIME!_ with a snarl of rage, Harry grabbed Nott by the throat. This time, his hands made full contact with the Death Eater. The other Death Eaters panicked at the sight of Harry Potter appearing out of nowhere to strangle one of their own. Harry threw Nott against the wall, and then skewered him with his metal stake. The acrid reek of burning flesh and Nott's agonized screams filled the air. Severus, acting quickly, grabbed the knife out of Lestrange's hands before she could stab Harry in the back. In one long gash, he slit her throat and jumped back so she would not spurt blood all over his robes. They stalked over to Draco and turned to face the Death Eaters, standing in front of the still manacled teen protectively.  
  
Draco stared at them in shock. "What are you doing here?" he croaked, still half under Silencio. He struggled, trying to free himself.  
  
"You're dreaming" Snape bluntly told him. "Harry got me, and we came after you."  
  
Harry formed a ball of pure electrical energy around his clenched fist. "I promised that I wouldn't let anyone hurt you" he snarled and released the electricity. Lightning bolts arced out of his hand and through the air, striking the remaining Death Eaters around Lucius Malfoy and Voldemort. They convulsed and fell to the ground, dead. Voldemort's face, previously shocked, twisted in rage and loathing.  
  
"Potter" he hissed, clenching his left hand. Black energy swirled then immersed his fist. Harry drew his aura protectively around him. He and Voldemort circled around each other, looking for weakness.  
  
Severus slammed Lucius against the wall, giving him a concussion from the strength of the blow. "Your own flesh and blood, Lucius. Your own son. How could you?" Lucius sagged to the ground, unconscious. Severus quickly released him and turned back to Draco. He picked the locks on the manacles, freeing him. Sev took off his cloak and wrapped it around his shivering Godson. They dragged Lucius over to the manacles and, levitating the unconscious man, locked him in place.  
  
They heard a roar and turned. They stared in shock as Harry, having gotten the upper hand, threw a curse and then decked Voldemort. The Dark Lord flew backwards and landed flat on his back.  
  
Harry pounced on him, straddling his chest. Bands of hunter green surrounded Voldemort's wrists and ankles, pinning him to the ground. Harry whaled into Voldemort, cursing him with every obscenity he could think of as he pummeled the defenseless Dark Lord's face and ribs.  
  
"You fucking fucked-up bastard! You slimy SHITHEAD!!! It's all your fault! You're the reason I have to live with a child molester! You killed my parents!" he bellowed, smashing Voldemort's cheekbone into the floor. Voldemort screamed in pain, struggling against his bonds. The bonds held fast.  
  
"This is for my Mum and Dad!" Voldemort's nose was mashed into an unrecognizable pulp. "This is for Sirius!" Harry shattered Voldemort's jaw. "And, this is for me!" He savagely snapped the Dark Lord's neck. Harry knelt there for a while, breathing hard.  
  
Draco and Severus stared at each other. "Uh, Harry, are you all right?" Draco knelt next to Harry and turned his soul mate to face him. Harry stared back, tears falling freely down his face. His jaw was clenched, and his eyes were wild.  
  
"I did it. I actually killed him. Even though this is just a dream, I did it." Harry closed his eyes and slumped against Draco's chest. Draco softly stroked his hair. "I could never picture myself killing him. He was always too powerful, and I'd always thought that he'd kill me. It was so bad that I couldn't see it any other way. I've dreamt that he would kill me over and over and over. I didn't think I could do it." He crawled off of the dead Dark Lord and sat there, crying.  
  
Severus walked over and knelt beside them, hugging them both. "You did it, Harry. You killed him. Even though this isn't real, it certainly feels that way. So, how does it feel?"  
  
Harry buried his head in Severus's shoulder, craving comfort. Sev's eyes widened. Lily used to do that he thought, torn between surprise and sadness. _GOD, Lily, I miss you.  
  
_ "It feels like something inside me died with him" he murmured sadly, tears still leaking from his eyes.  
  
Severus rubbed his back. "It always does." he stated simply.  
  
"It didn't when I killed Lestrange-" Harry trailed off.  
  
"You did that?" Severus asked, amused. "Good for you!" he praised. Harry tiredly grinned, then looked extremely confused.  
  
"Wait- How did you know my mother and why did you hug her?" Harry asked.  
  
Severus grinned; transforming his face and making him look almost fifteen years younger. "She was my best, closest friend. In fact," he opened his left hand and showed them a thin scar across his palm. Draco gasped, recognizing its significance. "We adopted each other through a blood binding ritual in fourth year. I always wanted a little sister, and she always wanted an older brother, so we made it happen. She's the reason I betrayed Voldemort and turned spy for Dumbledore."  
  
"So she was your blood sister after that?" Harry asked curiously. Severus nodded, still grinning. Harry's eyes lit up. "Cool! So that means you are my real uncle then?" Sev nodded again. Harry's eyes dulled. "But you hate me. I don't understand."  
  
"The reason I disliked you so much is that you looked, and therefore I assumed wrongly, that you acted exactly like your father, who made my life a living hell all seven years I attended Hogwarts. Through your actions this summer, I realized that you and Lily are much more alike than I thought. James would have never done something like that rescue you pulled off, even if it had been Black who had been in trouble. Lily would have in a heartbeat because she always did what she felt was right, no matter the danger. She also would have gone to the Department of Mysteries to rescue Black, as well, consequences and danger be damned." Harry nodded slowly.  
  
"So, does that mean you've changed your mind?" he asked cautiously. Sev smirked.  
  
"Welcome to the Snape family." He hugged Harry. Draco sat there, mouth still open in shock.  
  
"Umm, we were already related." Harry retorted, smirking. Sev groaned. "So, 'Uncle Sev'" Harry's eyes lit back up, "Draco, what do you say we get the hell out of here?"  
  
Snape smirked. "I like the sound of that, coming from you. 'Uncle Sev.' Who'd of thought that a Potter would ever be calling me that?" He shook his head and laughed. "However, Harry, come September first, it's back to Professor." Harry pouted slightly, and then nodded.  
  
"Can't I call you Uncle Sev in private?" he asked, warming up to the idea  
  
"Of course! And, you can stay with me over the summer, instead of having to go anywhere near those damn Muggles!" Severus hugged his Godson and nephew.  
  
Over on the wall, Lucius was still hanging limply.  
  
The three demigods stood up and strode out of the dungeon, leaving carnage in their wake.  
  
They gradually awoke, muscles stiff and sore. Harry sat up and checked his watch. _Great, 2:30 a.m._ Draco groaned and opened his eyes, tears still streaming down his face. He buried his face in Severus's shoulder.  
  
"Are you two all right?" asked Sev anxiously. They nodded shakily. Harry stood up and stretched.  
  
"I should probably be going back to Gryffindor Tower." Harry made a face at the prospect. Draco groaned and yanked him by the arm. Harry fell back down onto Draco's bed.  
  
"No. You're gonna stay here." Draco pouted, reminding Harry of a two year old. Severus laughed.  
  
"Really, Harry, you can stay. There are two other beds here." Severus stretched, raising his arms high above his head, yawning. Draco gasped, his gaze riveted to his Godfather's now unmarked forearm.  
  
"Uncle Sev, where is it??? Where's the Mark?" Draco exclaimed, his eyes wide. Harry gaped and ran his finger over the smooth, unblemished skin.  
  
Severus gaped at his arm in astonishment. "Oh my GOD. It wasn't a dream. It's gone, it's finally gone. I'm free" he numbly spoke. "I'm FREE! I'M FREE!" he exclaimed. "She really healed it and broke the link! He can never summon me again!" His eyes sparkled.  
  
Draco and Harry hugged him, laughing. "That's great, Uncle Sev!" Draco exclaimed happily. "That bastard can't hurt you any more!" Harry smiled, truly happy for his uncle._ It's so strange, _he mused. _Now if she could only do that for my scar,_ he thought dourly, fingering the lightning bolt shape on his forehead. _That would be really cool.  
  
_ Draco caught his thought. "Maybe she can, Harry" Draco suggested hopefully. He shivered. "I never want to feel that much pain again. It felt like every nerve ending I had was on fire" he remarked, remembering all too well how badly it hurt. "Does it hurt like that every time?"  
  
"Sometimes it's worse, sometimes it's better. The absolute worst is when he sends me visions. Those suck." Harry winced and rubbed his scar, remembering the last vision he had experienced. _Sirius.  
_  
"Ok, enough talking. You two need to go back to sleep." Severus stood up, pulling Harry with him. He guided his nephew to the closest bed. "Go to sleep" he admonished. Harry and Draco nodded sleepily.  
  
"Hey, Uncle Sev, what about my clothes?" Harry asked, almost asleep. Severus chuckled.  
  
"You're one of the most powerful beings in existence. Summon them or conjure more in the morning. Good night, you two." He walked out the door.  
  
"Good Night, Uncle Sev" they chorused in matching sing song voices. He rolled his eyes and closed the door behind him.  
  
Harry waved his hand around and the soft glow winked out. "Good night, Draco."  
  
"Good night, Harry."  
  
  
  
Harry woke up and stared wildly around him, disoriented. _WHERE- Oh yeah,_ he thought to himself. The curtains were green because he was sleeping in the Slytherin dorms.  
  
He could feel Draco's mind stir towards wakefulness. _I could get used to this,_ Harry thought to himself as Draco slowly woke up.  
  
_ Good morning, sunshine,_ chirped Harry gleefully when Draco finally opened his eyes.  
  
_MMMRRRPGH_ came the unintelligible reply._ How the hell can you be so damn cheerful? What time is it?  
_  
Harry summoned a clock. _8:45.  
_  
_What the hell are we doing awake, then?_ Draco asked incredulously.  
  
Harry laughed. _Aww, someone not a morning person? _he asked, teasing Draco.  
  
_BITE ME  
  
Hmmmm got to think about that one. Any particular place you had in mind?  
_  
Draco choked and raised his head. "You are one sick bastard" he muttered, stretching. Blond hair flopped over one eye.  
  
Severus poked his head into their rooms. "Are you up? Miss Granger wishes to speak with you, Harry." Hermione slipped past Severus and rushed into the room. Harry groaned and buried his head under a pillow.  
  
Hermione jumped onto his bed. "Harry, what are you doing here?" she asked, grabbing his pillow away from him.  
  
_It's too early for this,_ Harry groused mentally. Draco sniggered, and Hermione shot him a look. "Good morning to you too, 'Mione."  
  
"Come on, Harry, what's going on? Ron said you ran like hell out of your room last night and didn't come back that he remembered. He said you were screaming. What happened?" She wrapped him in a big hug. "Come on, tell me!" she pleaded. Harry sighed and turned to Draco.  
  
_How much do you feel comfortable with, that I can tell her? She'll never shut up if I try to brush her off.  
  
I'll tell her,_ laughed Draco.  
  
_Be nice. She's still my friend, even though I feel neglected. Plus, she's supposedly my cousin.  
  
_ Draco pouted. _Spoilsport._ They both laughed. Severus rolled his eyes, amused.  
  
"Ok, what is the deal with you two? Are you talking and I'm just not hearing it, or what?" Hermione asked, exasperated. She glared at them.  
  
Draco sighed. "Hermione". She shot him a startled look. "What? That is your name, isn't it? Would you prefer that I insult you?" Severus choked back a laugh. She shook her head mutely.  
  
"Good. Now, stay quiet and listen." Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but Draco cut her off. "Nope, SHHH!" She snapped her mouth shut, looking mildly insulted. Severus snickered and left. "Harry and I can talk telepathically, because we both are demigods. You heard Alanna say we are soul mates. What that means is irrelevant, and please feel free to draw your own conclusions. Severus Snape, his soul mate Laurel, Harry, and I are the youngest of the demigods. Harry is also the human Champion for the side of the Light in the battle with Voldemort and Clautius. We are training for that war. Any questions so far?"  
  
Hermione stared at him suspiciously. "You still haven't answered my question. Why is Harry in the Slytherin Dorms?"  
  
Harry laughed. "If you could see someone's nightmares, especially if that person is a friend, wouldn't you do everything in your power to help them and get to them as quickly as possible?"  
  
Hermione thought a minute. "Within reason, yes." She looked at Draco, troubled. "Why are you having nightmares? And, since when are you two friends?"  
  
Draco stared incredulously at her. "Hello! I've been tortured by Death Eaters and Potter here rescued my ass! You can't hate someone after they save your life like that."  
  
Hermione blushed. "Oops, I forgot that part."  
  
"That's okay, no big deal." Draco went to stand up, and then checked himself. _Ok, I don't think she wants to see my boxers. See, I'm being considerate of her feelings._ Harry burst out laughing. "Hey, would you mind leaving? We both kind of need to get dressed." She beat a hasty retreat out of the room. Harry laughed at the shocked expression on her face, and then summoned his trunk. It came zooming though the door a second later.  
  
  
  
Twenty minutes later, Harry and Draco strolled out of Draco's room. Hermione was sitting on a couch in the Slytherin Common Room, reading an enormous tome on potions. Professor Snape was sitting next to her, answering her questions about the content. She jumped up when she saw the two guys and hugged Harry tightly around the neck.  
  
"Hi, 'Mione. What are you reading?" he asked, rubbing his now sore neck.  
  
"Never mind that. I'm worried about you. I never see you any more. Why are you hanging out with Malfoy all the time?"  
  
"Yeah, hanging out with two people who are so completely wrapped up in themselves and their budding romance that they forget to pay attention to their friend is so much better than hanging out with someone who at least pays attention to you," Draco sarcastically replied, flopping into an overstuffed velvet chair next to the roaring fire. The chains he had slung about his hips glinted in the firelight against his inky black jeans. The silver flames running up the sleeves of his long sleeve dark green shirt shimmered and sparkled. He laid his head on one of the armrests, throwing his boots over the other.  
  
"Comfy?" Harry asked sarcastically. Hermione took a minute and stared at his clothes.  
  
"Harry, what on earth are you wearing?" Harry looked down at himself. He had on a deep burgundy long sleeve shirt with a silver phoenix on the front. He wore his leather pants and silver chains around his hips as well as looping off the belt loops. A pair of black boots and some spike bracelets completed the picture.  
  
"What?" he asked confused. _I thought I looked good!  
_  
_You do. Don't worry about it. She's the one with the screwed up fashion sense._ Harry looked Hermione up and down. She had on a PINK short sleeved tee shirt and a faded pair of blue jeans.  
  
"Yes, Hermione, I am wearing clothing. If clothing offends you, I'll take it off." Harry amusedly started to take off his shirt.  
  
"HARRY!" she yelled, scandalized. "Keep your clothes on!"  
  
_ Damn, Potter, she must think you're hideous. Well she finds Ron attractive so I can personally attest to the fact that she has no taste._ Draco chuckled and examined his nails.  
  
_ I'm beginning to think you're right, _Harry agreed reluctantly.  
  
"Ok, if we are finished talking," Snape interjected, "can we go to breakfast already?" He strode out of the Common Room and walked down the hall.  
  
Hermione, Harry, and Draco walked out after him. "Oh, Hermione," Draco commented casually "you might want to think about joining our training sessions. They're from 1:00 to 3:00 in the Room of Requirement. You are one of the most powerful mortals on the planet, you know. Alanna and Xander can teach you more than you'll ever learn on your own about your powers."  
  
"I'll think about it."  
  
  
  
At 12:55, Harry, Draco, Dudley, and Severus strolled casually into the Room of Requirement. Alanna and Xander were already waiting for them.  
  
_Are we all here?_ Alanna asked quietly.  
  
_Hermione might be coming. She said she'd think about it,_ Draco replied, floating to the ceiling. Dudley watched him in awe, his mouth hanging open.  
  
_How did he do that? _he though quietly to himself. Harry laughed.  
  
_Like this._ He directly linked to Dudley's mind and showed him how to control his floating. Within seconds there were three teenagers bouncing off the walls, ceilings, and each other.  
  
Hermione and Ron skidded into the room at exactly 1:00. "Sorry we're late. The staircase- What are you doing????" She watched, flabbergasted, as Harry and Dudley slammed into each other in mid air, and then careened off in opposite directions. "How are you doing that?" she asked, impressed.  
  
_WHEEE! THIS IS FUN!!!_ Harry yelled enthusiastically. Draco smirked from the center of the ceiling where he hung upside down.  
  
_How can I hear him, when he isn't opening his mouth? _wondered Ron, completely confused.  
  
_ Hey, 'Mione, how much did you tell him?_ Harry asked.  
  
"Um, not much" she said out loud. "I wasn't sure how he'd take it, so I only told him that you were training. So, how does the telepathy work?" she asked, experimenting. _LIKE THIS???_ she shouted. Harry winced, and Draco clapped his hands to his temples. Dudley shrieked in surprise and fell to the floor with a loud crash, shaking the whole room. Severus, Alanna, and Xander slammed their shields into place.  
  
_Too loud, 'Mione. Just think normally, as if you were speaking._ She tried again.  
  
_Like this?_ she asked. Harry beamed at her, and Draco let out a sigh of relief.  
  
_Perfect._ Harry slowly sank down and stood beside her.  
  
Ok, let's get started. Alanna clapped her hands and they all clustered around her, eager to begin.  
  
_All right, who are the new students?_ she asked.  
  
Hermione smiled. _I'm Hermione, and this is my boyfriend Ron._ Ron looked confused, but gave a small wave.  
  
Dudley hovered a few inches off the ground. _I'm Dudley, Harry's cousin. I keep blowing things up. Can you help me? _Everyone laughed.  
  
_ What if I think you already have the right idea?_ Alanna teased.  
  
Dudley let out a huge sigh of relief._ FINALLY someone who isn't going to yell at me for liking fires!_ Harry snickered.  
  
_ Hey, I never yelled at you for being a pyro. I think it's cool, _he told his cousin. Dudley grinned and formed a small fireball in his palm. Harry grinned back and a stone lion with a fiery mane formed and prowled on his shoulder. Dudley raised his eyebrows, impressed. Hermione, not to be outdone, formed a fiery phoenix that hovered and flew around the room. Draco created a small elephant shaped tornado in the center of the room. Ron just watched them form various creatures and felt severely outclassed.  
  
_Um, Hermione? I shouldn't be here. I can't do anything like that. I should go._ Turning, he walked towards the door.  
  
"Ron, wait! I - AARRGH!" Hermione's phoenix had landed on her shoulder and her hair had instantly combusted. Ron turned, horrified.  
  
"HERMIONE!!!" He raised his hand, and a torrent of water crashed into his girlfriend. Sputtering, she slammed into one of the large windows. It gave way and she crashed through the glass.  
  
"ROONNNNN!!!" She screamed. Draco dove out the window and caught her. He levitated them both up through the window back to safety.  
  
_ I- um I- thank you._ Hermione said gratefully, then flew into her boyfriend's arms.  
  
Ron grabbed her around the waist and swung her into his arms. _Oh God, 'Mione I was so scared. I'm so sorry you went out the window. I didn't mean for it to happen. You were on fire and I just reacted and I'M SO SORRY!_ Ron was so frantic with relief that he didn't even realize he wasn't speaking out loud.  
  
_Calm down, Ron, it's ok. I'm safe, and MY HAIR!_ she shrieked. Draco conjured a mirror and she snatched it from his hand. _OH MY GOD!!! MY HAIR!!!!! IT'S RUINED!!!!_ she screamed.  
  
_ Draco, that wasn't nice. You aren't helping._ Harry chided, trying to hold in his laughter.  
  
_ She wanted to see her hair. I think I was doing her a favor, really._ Draco snickered.  
  
Hermione started to cry. Great sobs wracked her body as she wailed into Ron's shoulder. _My hair! It's ruined, what'll I do?_ Alanna pulled her from Ron's arms and stared at the burned ends critically.  
  
_ It isn't too bad. Really, the burned parts need to come out. You'll lose only about four inches. So, if I cut this shoulder length, it should be fine. Ron put it out just in time. It will be ok, and it is salvageable.  
_  
Hermione turned a tear stained face up to Alanna. _You really think so? It isn't too bad?  
  
_ Of course. I can have this done in about ten minutes. Alanna turned to Ron. _So, you're a water elemental. I thought you might be one, considering that your girlfriend likes to play with fire.  
  
So I actually have talent? _Ron asked excitedly.  
  
_You'd think he hadn't ever been good at anything before,_ Draco remarked to Harry privately. Severus overheard him and his lips twitched as he fought to repress a smile. Harry's next words wiped the smile right off his face.  
  
_He hasn't. His brothers have overshadowed everything he has ever done. All he wants, really, is for someone to notice him and his accomplishments without comparing him to Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred or George,_ Harry sadly replied. Draco's eyes widened fractionally as he gained this insight.  
  
_Damn, having siblings must suck. Still, I wish I had a younger brother or sister,_ Draco commented wistfully.  
  
_ I know, me too. It would have been nice to have a little sister to tease and protect._ Harry smiled sadly. _But, it's no use wishing since it won't happen.  
  
True.  
  
If you two are done with your private conversation, we would like to continue._ Alanna broke into their thoughts. With a laugh, they turned their focus back to the lesson.  
  
_Ok, we are going to review wandless magic quickly. Oh, before we begin, Hermione and Ron, hand over your wands. You'll never need them again. _Suspiciously they complied.  
  
_ Then how are we going to do spells?_ Ron asked.  
  
_ Harry, could you show them? You teach telepathically the best out of any of us._ Harry quickly reviewed with Ron and Hermione how to use their hands and voices to cast spells. Within a minute of coaching, they had it completely. They spent the next ten minutes practicing the most efficient ways of casting spells.  
  
_ I don't know any spells,_ Dudley complained. Draco took him aside and quickly joined minds with him. A few seconds later, Dudley produced a corporal Patronus of a giant whale. It swam around the room, then returned to Dudley's open hand. Dudley let out a cheer. "I DID IT!" he yelled triumphantly. Harry clapped enthusiastically. Dudley went through all the spells Draco had quickly stored in his memory. Suddenly he frowned._ I don't think I should do this one. What's Sano Crucio?_ Alanna paled.  
  
_Draco, how did you know that one?_ she asked, afraid of the answer.  
  
_ My father. He was big into the Dark Arts and made sure that I knew the spells and incantations,_ he replied, his concentration on creating a three inch fiery whirlwind in mid air.  
  
_ I see. All right, does everyone understand wandless magic?_ They all nodded. _Ok, let's continue. Elemental Magic is the control of the elements. There are five elements: fire, water, earth, air and mind. Everyone has one element that they excel at, though it is possible to completely master all five. However, one will always be easier than all the rest. Your aura reflects what element will be easier for you._ They continued learning how to master their elements until 3:00, when Alanna called it a day.  
  
  
  
Harry gratefully sank into his bed in the Gryffindor Tower. That training had been fun, but tough. He was out like a light the instant his head touched the pillow. He started to whimper, slipping into a dream.  
  
Seven year old Harry sat in his cupboard, absently playing with his only friend, the stone tiger. His kitty jumped through a ring of fire that he had created out of thin air, then was whirled around by a gust of wind. _This is nice_ he thought, smiling. _Uncle Vernon doesn't know I'm playing with my powers, _so he can't punish me. He lay down on his tiny bed, and the foot high tiger curled up on his chest, purring contentedly. As he drifted into a doze, the cupboard door was ripped open. Harry stared, horrified, as an enormous shadow loomed over him. _Uh-oh_ he thought.  
  
His uncle glared down at him. The tiger stood up and bristled, hissing at the irate man. He picked up the cat and crushed it in his fist. "Hello freak" he growled and reached for Harry.   
  
  
  
Draco woke from a sound sleep. Harry he thought, still half asleep. Something is wrong with Harry. He dashed out of bed, wearing only a pair of drawstring silk pants, and sprinted out of the Slytherin Dorms. _UNCLE SEV! SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH HARRY!_ Sev came dashing out of his quarters, similarly clad. Draco, without even realizing it, apparated in mid step and reappeared in the middle of the Gryffindor Common Room. He scared the shit out of the madly making out Ron and Hermione. Severus appeared right next to him, out of breath.  
  
"You do realize," he gasped for breath "that you just apparated?" Draco ignored him.  
  
"Where is he?" he demanded. "Where is Harry?" Ron and Hermione mutely pointed up the stairs. A loud scream echoed off the walls. "HARRY!" yelled Draco as he sprinted for Harry's room. Severus, Ron and Hermione followed, racing to the sixth year dorms.  
  
They skidded into the room. Harry hovered a foot off his bed, his energy crackling wildly around him. "NONONONONONONONO" he shrieked at the top of his lungs, flailing wildly. Draco threw himself at Harry, aura flaring around him. _SEV, JOIN NOW!_ he ordered. Severus jerked his fingers against Draco's temple and Draco did the same to Severus. Ron and Hermione watched, horrified, as they collapsed against the still screaming and struggling teen.  
  
Severus and Draco entered the Dursley house just in time to see Vernon throw Harry against the living room wall. "You little freak. How many times do I have to tell you that using that abomination is forbidden?" Harry whimpered, terrified. His aura rose protectively around him, and Vernon savagely kicked through it, connecting with Harry's ribcage. The child flew through the air and crashed against the piano across the room. Severus's face twisted in rage.  
  
"Oh you fucking asshole!" he bellowed. Draco ran to Harry, holding him. The little boy looked him square in the eye.  
  
"Who're you?" he asked, wide eyed. He suddenly screamed "WATCH OUT!" Draco turned in time for Vernon's meaty fist to catch his temple. He flew through the air, still holding Harry, into the fireplace. He caught himself just in time, aura flaring to keep him from being smashed into the stone hearth. Harry stared at him, astonished. "You- you- you- you're just like me!" he exclaimed, grinning.  
  
Draco gently put him down. "Yep, I'm just like you, and I'm pissed." He advanced on Vernon, Severus stalking beside him. Vernon gulped and backed up, terrified. Severus glowed a bright silver, and Draco's light blue aura roiled around him. They effortlessly picked up the petrified Vernon Dursley and plastered him against the wall.  
  
"So you like to hurt little boys, is that it? How about you take on someone your own size for once? Not so brave now, are you?" Draco snarled and brought an energy filled fist up to Vernon's face. The man started to cry, and promptly wet his pants. "Oh, fucking GROSS!!" yelled Draco, disgusted. He left Vernon in the care of Severus, and went to comfort Harry. The boy was crouched in a corner, crying softly.  
  
Draco knelt down in front of him. "Hi, Harry, I'm Draco. Can you come here?" Harry shook his head and curled into a ball. Draco slowly picked him up and put him on his lap. Harry hissed in pain from the movement of his broken ribs.  
  
"Here, let me heal you." Harry glared suspiciously at the older boy. Draco carefully healed Harry's broken ribs, and then Harry scooted away from him.  
  
"What do you want in return?" he asked, suspicious. Draco stared at him in shock.  
  
"What do you mean? I don't want anything from you. Why do you ask?"  
  
"Bull shit. Uncle Vernon only does nice things for me, like give me dinner, if I let him- I shouldn't have said that. Forget I said anything." Draco raised his eyebrows, rage turning his pale skin bright red.  
  
"Uncle Sev, did you hear that? Harry's uncle exchanges food for sexual favors. Isn't that so kind of him?" he spat venomously. Harry froze like a deer caught in headlights. He stared back and forth at the two strange adults in his living room. They turned to Vernon.  
  
"You are going to wish you had never been born by the time we are through with you" Severus growled. "You hurt my nephew, and you are going to pay."  
  
Vernon screamed for hours, until his voice finally gave out. Harry sat in the corner, eating popcorn and loving every minute of it.  
  
Harry, Severus, and Draco finally awoke. Ron and Hermione were lightly dozing against the wall next to Harry's bed. They sprang into wakefulness the minute the three of them stirred.  
  
"Are you all right?" they asked, worried. "Harry, what happened?" Hermione tried to hug him, but he shied away from her, burrowing into Severus's embrace.  
  
"Um, Harry, you're hugging Professor Snape." Ron stared at them, completely dumbfounded. _What the fuck is going on??  
_  
"I know. He's my uncle" Harry mumbled against Sev's shoulder. Draco rested his forehead against Harry's back.  
  
"Excuse me? Did I hear you right?" Hermione asked, confused. _I could have sworn I heard him say Snape was his uncle.  
_  
"You did. Lily was my best friend at Hogwarts. We adopted each other through a blood binding ritual we performed in our fourth year." Hermione absorbed this information, wide eyed. Ron's eyes darted back and forth, and he promptly passed out. He hit the ground with a loud thud. Harry groaned and levitated him to his bed, tucking him in.  
  
"Harry, you can't sleep up here. We have to be close by so we can deal with these nightmares you and Draco have. You have to move into the Slytherin Dorms." Sev stroked his nephew's hair. Harry sighed and nodded. Hermione shook her head.  
  
"I know it's for the best, but why does he have to move down there? Why can't you move up here?" Ron's snores diverted her attention, and she grinned ruefully. "Right. Ron would throw a conniption if he had to share a dorm with the dreaded Draco Malfoy." She smirked.  
  
"Don't forget the completely horrid Professor Snape" Severus drawled, then grinned. Hermione gasped.  
  
"You know how to smile???" she asked, incredulously. Severus laughed. "You can laugh? Has hell frozen over? Have the polar ice caps melted? What is going on?" She asked, pretending to swoon melodramatically. Draco sniggered. Harry was already on his way to falling asleep in his uncle's arms. Hermione gently shook him awake. "Harry, is your trunk packed?" He sleepily shook his head no.  
  
"Very well, I'll do it. PACK!" she ordered, and his trunk was instantly filled and locked.  
  
Draco stood up and grabbed the trunk. Severus gently lifted Harry, carrying him in his arms. Draco grasped Severus's elbow, and they apparated back to the Slytherin Dorms. Sev tucked Harry back into the same bed he had used the previous night. Draco placed his trunk by the foot of the bed, then crawled under his covers.  
  
"Good night, Uncle Sev." The light was extinguished, and the two boys fell into a dreamless sleep.  
  
  
  
Two weeks passed. Harry moved permanently into the Slytherin Dorms, where his uncle and soul mate could keep their eyes on him. He felt bad that they were missing sleep because of him, but the one time he tried casting silencing charms on his bed, they threatened to hex him into the middle of next week.  
  
True to his word, Severus, Draco, and Harry visited the hot spring at least every other day. Once, they invited Ron and Hermione to go with them. After Hermione revived Ron, who had passed out upon hearing Severus actually speak to him without insulting him, they accepted.  
  
While Harry, Draco, and Severus just soaked in the spring, Hermione and Ron splashed in the pond below. They chased and dunked each other, playfully, having the time of their lives.  
  
"Hey!" shouted Hermione, as Ron dunked her for the fourth time, "I don't want algae in my hair!" she squealed, flipping her now shoulder length hair over her shoulder. He picked her up, and she almost lost the top of her bikini. "Ron, put me down! I mean it, now!" He laughed, and held her closer. Suddenly, he shot backwards, dropping her into the deepest part of the pond. Severus rolled his eyes and left the spring to figure out what was going on.  
  
"HELP! Hermione, there's something in my shorts! Help! Oh, this feels weird! Oh! Oh!" He hopped around trying to shake whatever it was out of his swim trunks. He stumbled out of the water, a weird shape bulging on his left butt cheek. All of a sudden, he started screaming at the top of his lungs. "IT BIT ME!!!! OH SHIT!!!!! AAUUGGHH! OWOWOWOWOWWWWW!!!!!!" He finally shook it out, and jumped back, afraid it would try to bite him again. Severus walked over, and stared at it, in shock.  
  
_ Oh wow, Draco, this is a new species. Come here. _Harry and Draco rushed over. The new species was an amphibian, with the arms and legs of a lizard, but the body and head of a frog. It had a short, stubby tail, and it hopped as well as crawled. Draco captured it and Harry created a container for the thing to stay. Severus started to laugh, collapsing to the ground. _Trust Mr. Weaseley to find a new species by having it crawl into his shorts and bite him on the ass! _he gasped, tears of mirth squeezing from his eyes. Hermione, Draco, and Harry started laughing as well. Ron huffed and stormed off.  
  
_ Ron, please, come back. You have to admit it was funny._ Hermione pleaded with her boyfriend. Honestly, you found a new species. _You'll be famous. But, you found it by the damn thing crawling into your swim trunks and biting you! _Ron came back, chuckling.  
  
_ You're right. Damn, that'll be a story for the grand kids. I can see it now, sitting on the porch, telling a bunch of wide-eyed kids: 'There I was, throwing my girlfriend into the pond, when, suddenly, something crawled up my leg! The damn thing bit me! Turns out it was a completely undiscovered species of frog-lizard!'_ They roared with laughter.  
  
They packed up, anxious to show Dumbledore the new species and have it registered. _Maybe they can call it the Weaseley, after its discoverer,_ Ron mused. Severus blanched, then laughed.  
  
  
  
The day before Harry's 16th birthday, Dumbledore asked Harry at lunch if he would come up to the Headmaster's office.  
  
"I have a favor to ask of you. The password is Payday" he had mysteriously said. So, at almost 12:30, Harry found himself standing in front of the stone gargoyle.  
  
"Payday". The gargoyle swung open and Harry climbed the stairs. He walked easily into the office. Petunia and Dudley were already there, seated in front of the desk. Dumbledore rose and gestured for Harry to join them.  
  
"Please sit down, my boy" he requested. Harry sat, slightly confused.  
  
What is going on? he asked Dudley. Dudley just grinned. Dumbledore reached up behind him and pulled down the Sorting Hat. Harry stared, shocked.  
  
"Um, I hope I'm not about to be resorted" he anxiously stared at the hat. Dumbledore smiled, eyes twinkling.  
  
"Of course not, Harry. Dudley is about to be Sorted. That is what I wanted to ask you. Since Petunia is going through a rather messy divorce, and your uncle is giving her a very hard time, I would appreciate it if you could cover the cost of your cousin's tuition until the end of the proceedings."  
  
Petunia quickly interjected. "I will pay you back, of course. But, it would be easier to not have to worry about transferring funds from a Muggle bank to Gringotts. That could be a mess." Harry slowly nodded, agreeing to the situation.  
  
"All right, that will be fine" he said slowly, still thinking it through. "Professor? Will Dudley have to take the OWLS? Or will he start at the beginning?" Dudley gulped, and Harry grinned evilly, picturing his sixteen year old cousin having to attend class with the eleven year old first years.  
  
"Um, that is another thing. Dudley will need to take his OWLS in several weeks. Could you, Draco, Ron, and Hermione get him up to speed on that? I know it will take you very little time." Harry sighed and nodded. Dudley breathed a huge sigh of relief.  
  
"Now then, let's get this show on the road." Without further ado, Dumbledore gently placed the Sorting Hat on Dudley's head. After about ten seconds, it shouted "HUFFLEPUFF!" Harry silently snickered, and slapped his cousin on the back.  
  
"Good job, Dudley. Good choice for a house. You really belong there." Harry laughed and left the room, leaving a happy, but confused Dudley and Petunia behind him.  
  
  
  
Harry woke up slowly to the sound of someone's voice. "Wake up, Harry, it's only an hour until midnight. You wouldn't want to miss your birthday, would you?" Harry panicked.  
  
_Uncle Vernon? No! He can't be here! No, please GOD NO! _He catapulted out of sleep, terrified.  
  
_ Relax, Harry, it's just us, Uncle Sev and Draco. Vernon isn't here. He can't hurt you._ Harry relaxed as his glasses were pushed gently onto his face. _Sev, I told you that waking him up was a bad idea,_ Draco snapped.  
  
_Hey, Lily loved waking up to see midnight on her birthday. I thought he might appreciate the gesture._ Sev argued, defensive. Harry laughed quietly.  
  
"Really, my mom used to wake up, too? I do it every year, and then my uncle spoils it for me. But still it's nice to welcome in my birthday. So, everyone tells me about my dad," Harry sat up in bed, all trace of sleepiness gone, "but no one tells me about my mom. What was she like?" Sev gasped, eyes narrowing.  
  
"What do you mean? Why hasn't anyone ever told you about her?" he asked, slightly angry.  
  
"They all kept telling me how much like my dad I was. I guess no one mentioned her. I know Aunt Petunia wouldn't even say her name."  
  
"Well, let me get my scrap book." Sev left and came back thirty seconds later, a huge book under one arm. Draco scooted away from Harry, making room for Sev in between them. He sat down in the middle, and opened the book, starting at the beginning.  
  
"This is us in first year. She was the outcast Gryffindor, much like Hermione was. I didn't approach her because I still thought the same way my father had, that only Purebloods are worth knowing." He gestured to the first several pictures. An eleven year old Lily sat under a tree, reading an enormous book. Severus sat two trees over, doing the same. "I was the outcast Slytherin, not wealthy or sadistic enough to be considered cool." He flipped through the next couple of pages, continuing.  
  
They sat there until midnight, going through the pictures. Harry learned more about his mom in the hour with his uncle than he had learned in his entire life. At midnight, Sev and Draco hugged him. "Happy birthday, Harry" they quietly told him. Harry smiled, happier than he had really ever been.  
  
_This is the best birthday ever, _Harry thought to himself, contentedly sitting between his uncle and soul mate. They continued flipping through the pictures until the sun rose.  
  
B/N: I hope you guys liked that, I know I did! Hehehehehe, Laura was only gonna put in that the thing climbed up Ron's pants, but I told her to have it bite him... on the ass. Oh funfunfunfunfun! I like this story. Uh-oh, I better be careful, LEST I BECOME A RABID FAN! (Like a certain person who will remain anonymous. She thinks the word is "unanimous.") By the way, did anybody find the story? The one that I asked about after the last chappie? Please, please, tell me the author or title, please? If you do, then I promise to torture Laura until she finishes the entire story for you, and I will personally be right next to her (with one of those electric cattle prodders), making sure she writes it good. TTFN!  
  
A/N: uh oh, can I hide at one of your guys's houses? She's scaring me.... Help!!!!! If my brain is fried I can't type! So, please.... Help me.... 


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9  
  
"Hey, Harry, what are you going to wear today?" Harry looked up from rummaging through his trunk. Draco was hanging half out of the bathroom, his chin length hair still streaming water, dripping onto the bedroom floor.  
  
"I have no idea." Harry threw up his hands helplessly. They had accumulated more clothing through will magic than Harry had ever owned in his life. He was incredibly overwhelmed by the newness of it all._And just think. If I hadn't have hopped on my broom without a second thought, I would still be at Privet Drive, probably in a healing sleep from another of Vernon's rages._ He sighed, and dumped his trunk on his bed, clothing scattering everywhere. "Do you have any ideas?"  
  
Draco hurried out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist. _Um, oh man. Uncle Sev, Harry's having a clothing crisis of sorts._ Severus poked his head in, clad in only a pair of black jeans.  
  
"What?" He strolled in, pulling on a form fitting dark emerald shirt. He stared incredulously at his nephew, in his boxers, who was staring forlornly at the daunting pile of clothes on his bed. "What the hell? Potter, can't you dress yourself, or is that too hard for you?" He started piecing though the chest high pile.  
  
Harry shot him a dirty look and sighed. "I've never had this problem before. I didn't have this much stuff, so I just pulled on whatever I had." Severus and Draco shot each other a look over Harry's head.  
  
_Since when is this a lot?_ they asked each other, confused. Harry heard them, and sent them visions of what he had to deal with since he was little. To say his uncle and soul mate were appalled would be the understatement of the century.  
  
_ The HELL!_ exploded Draco. _Potter, I take back everything I have ever said about your obvious color blindness or complete lack of fashion sense. I mean, really. How the hell can you let them get away with that horrible treatment? Not having decent clothing is a sin!_ Severus nodded vigorously in total agreement. Harry stared at them, bemused.  
  
_ Ok...­ am I the only one in this room who is NOT obsessed with clothing?_ Sev and Draco stared at him, shocked.  
  
Draco turned to Severus. In all seriousness, he stated, _You know this means a shopping trip. _Severus smirked, and looked his nephew over.  
  
_I agree, Mr. Malfoy. To not be obsessed with clothing shows a lack of proper instruction. We must remedy this at once._ Harry gulped as the two Slytherins went through his wardrobe with a fine tooth comb, finally deciding on a short sleeved dark blue shirt with Draco's black and silver button down shirt over it, his black jeans, two chains, and his black boots. Harry finally dressed and snapped on his two spike bracelets on his wrists.  
  
Severus stared thoughtfully at the two bracelets. "Those are interesting. I wonder if it would look strange if I wore some as well." Draco smirked and conjured four of them, as well as a spiked collar choker. He put on two of the bracelets and the choker, and then passed the other two to Severus. Severus stared at the choker. Harry snickered.  
  
"Hang on a minute." Harry summoned another chain and quickly hooked it to Draco's spiked collar. "Now I just have to yank on it to get your attention." Severus snickered, and Draco hurriedly removed the collar, murder in his eyes.  
  
"I am NOT YOUR BITCH, YOU ASS!" He tackled the laughing Gryffindor around the waist, and they fell to the ground wrestling. They flipped each other over and over, rolling on the floor. Severus quickly levitated himself out of the way. Somewhere in the process, Draco's towel started to slip. "Oh hell, let me up, Potter. My towel is falling off." Still chortling, Harry let the embarrassed (and almost bare assed) Draco up. He hurriedly grabbed his clothing and ran to the bathroom.  
  
_ It's your own damn fault, you know. If you hadn't tackled me, you wouldn't have lost your towel. _Harry laughed as Severus admired his newly created bracelets. "You like?" he asked casually.  
  
Severus grinned evilly. "Hell yes. In fact, I liked the spiked collar as well, all though I do not think it would be appropriate for a professor to wear one." He sighed, fingering the discarded collar thoughtfully.  
  
Harry smirked. "You know, you could wear it outside of Hogwarts. No one would know and I wouldn't tell." He conjured another one and held it out to Severus, dangling it in front of his nose. His uncle's eyes followed it, longingly. With a sigh and a half smile, he snatched it out from Harry's hand and put it on.  
  
"If you try to give me a leash, I'll ground you" he warned his snickering nephew. Harry laughed and conjured one with dark blue metallic spikes and put it on himself. He stared at his wrists and changed the color from silver to a metallic blue to match his collar.  
  
"Nice." Severus admired his nephew's clothing on the bed. "Hey, come up with some stuff for me?" he asked hopefully. Harry mock glared at him, then grinned.  
  
"You are just as powerful as I am. Why can't you conjure the stuff yourself?" Sighing, he looked his uncle up and down. Concentrating, he created a large black fabric swatch. He added a silver shimmer undertone then formed a long sleeve tunic out of it. Severus hurriedly stripped off his shirt and put on the new one. It fell past his hips gracefully, and he conjured a full length mirror. He stared at his reflection in amazement. The sleeves were loose and fell to the middle of his thumbs, and the neckline was high with a notch in the center.  
  
"Damn" he breathed quietly. "This is incredible." Harry smiled in the background, and Severus smiled at his reflection in the mirror. "Thank you." Harry ducked his head, blushing slightly. Severus turned a full turn, checking out what the back looked like. He did look good.  
  
Draco waltzed out of the bathroom, toweling off his hair. He wore all black, from his long sleeved black tee shirt to his form fitting black leather pants. He walked over to his bed and sat down to pull on his boots. Looking up, he caught sight of his Godfather admiring himself in the mirror. "New shirt, Sev?" he asked.  
  
"A Harry Potter original. Like it?" Sev tossed him the discarded collar, and after Draco noticed that everyone in the room had one on, donned it as well.  
  
"Hell yes. He's got some skills."  
  
Harry blushed and, grabbing his boots, walked quickly out of the room. _You think that I was the next Armani by the way they gush and preen._ Shaking his head, he sat down in the Common Room to wait for them to finish dressing.  
  
  
  
Ten minutes later, the three of them strode up into the Great Hall from the Dungeons. Ron and Hermione rushed over.  
  
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!" they yelled, enthusiastically. Hermione hugged him, and accidentally poked herself in the forehead on Harry's spikes.  
  
"OWW!" she cried, rubbing her eyebrow. She glared suspiciously at Harry's neck and let out a squeak of surprise when she saw the spiked collar. "WHAT the HELL are you WEARING?"  
  
Ron stared at Harry in confusion. "Harry, why are you dressed like a Goth?"  
  
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Do you have a problem with the way I dress? I happen to like it." He raised a hand and absently studied his nails. "In fact, I might just have to get some black nail polish-" he trailed off, musing. Ron blanched.  
  
"You wear MAKEUP??? WHAT ARE YOU, GAY???" Harry's face darkened, turning his emerald green eyes almost black.  
  
"Why, Ronald, would you have a problem if I was? Would that ruin your perfect little world if your best friend, whom you have been ignoring to play tonsil hockey with your girlfriend, wasn't straight?" he hissed angrily. Dark green swirled around and his hair stood on end. Hermione and Ron took a nervous step backwards, glancing unsurely at each other. Draco and Severus stared at Harry in shock.  
  
_ Ease up, Potter. You're scaring them._ Draco put a restraining hand on Harry's shoulder and projected calm directly into Harry's mind. Harry could feel himself relaxing into Draco's touch and closed his eyes.  
  
After a few seconds, he opened his eyes again. _I'm fine, Draco. Thanks._ Ron stared at them with a mixture of curiosity and disgust.  
  
"So it's THAT way between you? Is that the reason you moved into Slytherin? To be closer to your slimy boyfriend?" Ron asked in contempt and disgust.  
  
Harry stood there, completely shell-shocked. "I- Wha- HUH?" he studdered, staring at the people he had thought were his friends. He looked at Ron, confused and hurt at the expression of loathing etched into his features. Hoping it was some cruel joke, he lightly probed his friend's mind for answers. Thankfully, Ron didn't notice, but Draco mentally bitch slapped him.  
  
_Harry, that's wrong! You don't trespass on other people's thoughts with- wait, is that one of me?_ Draco watched avidly over Harry's mental shoulder, engrossed in Ron's thoughts.  
  
_ I cannot believe this! I mean, you can't help who you fall in- wait, don't even go there! There is no way in Hell- is there? Is Harry really- and with Draco?! Gross! If he got with Seamus, that would be all right- wait, don't even want to THINK about Harry and another boy... I suppose I could deal with it if I really had to, but MALFOY????_ Harry was surprised that Ron would jump to conclusions so quickly. Harry mentally apologized for trespassing on his supposed best friend's thoughts and continued searching. Not wanting to concentrate on Ron's slight homophobia, Harry searched for the explanation to Ron's outburst at his attire.  
  
_What the HELL have those two done to him? _Ron asked himself, referring to Draco and Snape. Intrigued and curious, Draco led Harry to probe further. _Next he'll show up with weird piercings everywhere!  
_  
Draco smirked and thought to himself, _Tongue bar, yum._ Harry mentally bitch slapped Draco, then actually thought about it.  
  
_ Hey, I like the sound of that. I want a tongue bar. That would be cool, but not for your perverted reasons.  
  
_ They went back to listening in on Ron's thoughts_. He looks so freaky and evil in all black. Seriously, he's a total freak now. And, just a month ago, he looked normal. What the hell is going on with him?  
_  
Hermione broke in on his thoughts. _Ronald Weaseley! Harry is still our friend, no matter who he's with in that way. But, why oh why did it have to be Draco Malfoy? He said they were soul mates. The only reference I have ever heard of is in my mom's romance books!  
  
'Mione! What were you doing reading romance novels?_ Ron asked, amused and, to Harry and Draco's horror, vaguely interested in the content.  
  
_I'm gonna hurl! Ron wants to read ROMANCE NOVELS????_ Harry mentally gagged. What Harry didn't realize was that he had yet to learn to control his facial expressions when looking at another persons thoughts. What he also failed to realize was the fact that Hermione was watching him when he turned a light green color and scrunched up his face.  
  
Unfortunately for him, Hermione was not stupid enough to think he was just feeling under the weather. "HAROLD JAMES POTTER, WHAT IN HELL'S NAME GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO BE LISTENING IN ON OTHER PEOPLE'S MENTAL CONVERSATIONS?!"  
  
Harry might have had the decency to be ashamed, but not Draco Malfoy. "HE HAS THE RIGHT WHEN THE CONVERSATION CONSISTS OF HIS SUPPOSED FRIENDS BADMOUTHING HIM AND HIS SEX LIFE!" the sexy, blond Slytherin screamed back at her.  
  
Harry turned to Draco, energy swirling around him in a mad frenzy. "WHAT SEX LIFE?????" he roared, aghast that Draco would say such a thing, Although you know it's gonna happen his little voice of reason chimed in. Harry ignored it and concentrated on the situation at hand. "I AM NOT SLEEPING WITH YOU, DUMBASS! LEARN TO RECOGNIZE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REALITY AND YOUR FANTASIES!!!!"  
  
Hermione and Ron quickly backed up, certain that all hell was about to break loose. They were wrong, as usual.  
  
Draco stared at Harry, tears forming in his eyes. "Thanks a lot, Harry. I thought we were friends. To think that I stood up for you, and you would turn the tables like that. I guess you can't expect anything from Gryffindors." He turned and stalked off. Severus stared at Harry, sorrow and anger plain on his face, then walked after his Godson.  
  
"Oh shit, I screwed that up." Harry hung his head, and sat down at the Slytherin table. He glumly grabbed a piece of toast and started shredding it. He could feel Draco's hurt, and felt absolutely horrible._ I didn't mean to yell like that. It, just, I don't know, got all screwed up. I'm so sorry I hurt him, but I can't believe that he'd say we were sleeping together. He knows, for God's sake. He knows how even thinking about it scares the shit outta me. I freaked out._ Harry started banging his head against the table -Clunk- -Clunk- as if that would solve all of his problems.  
  
Hermione and Ron were still standing near the door, looking at Harry as if waiting for him to explode. _Or implode from the depression,_ Hermione thought. Realizing that Harry needed some alone time, Hermione steered Ron to the Gryffindor table, intent on getting some breakfast.  
  
Five minutes later Harry was still sitting at the Slytherin table, brooding over the now unrecognizable pulp that had been his toast. Disgusted with the tiny blob, he shoved it across the table, where it sat, and in his mind, blew kissies at him. He was staring so avidly at it that he did not notice Draco apparate onto the table next to the blob.  
  
_You are one pathetic excuse for a demigod, you know that? I just received a vision of a blob of food sending you overly suggestive looks, Potter. Am I supposed to be jealous? _Draco gave a weak attempt at his trade-mark smirk, and then glared at Harry intently, as the black-haired boy avoided his gaze by continuing to stare at the- toast. _Okay, now I AM getting jealous, damn it.  
  
I'm sorry. I didn't think, and let myself just react to what you said. You scared me._ Harry continued to bang his head against the table, hoping to give himself a concussion. Draco grabbed his hair and yanked him up to stare into his eyes.  
  
_ Did you mean it?_ he asked, staring into Harry's eyes intently. _Did you mean that you're sorry?  
  
Of course. I didn't want to hurt you. It came out really wrong, and I'm so sorry._ Harry's anguish filled eyes stared straight into Draco's. "I'm sorry I hurt you. I reacted badly to your telling them like that. I won't blow up like that again, I promise" he said aloud. Hermione and Ron whipped around, and saw Draco yanking Harry's hair.  
  
Ron turned puce. "YOU BASTARD! GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HIM!" he hopped off of the bench and sprinted to the Slytherin table, hurdling the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables in his haste. He skidded over to them, panting. "I SAID LET GO OF HIM!!!" he bellowed. Harry and Draco looked at each other, and Draco let go of Harry's hair. Harry's head clunked onto the table with a loud THUNK.  
  
Harry raised his head with a grimace. "Ow, why'd you let go?" he asked Draco. Ron stared back and forth between the two, confused and disgusted.  
  
"You mean you LIKE being treated that way?" he finally asked, suspicious.  
  
"It's not a problem, if that's what you mean," Harry said cautiously. _What on earth is he talking about? he asked Draco._ Draco shrugged.  
  
"You're- what're they called? A Masochist! You get off on pain! Sick!!!!" Ron made a gagging noise, disgusted. Harry's face turned white.  
  
_I'm not a freak. I'm not a freak. I'm not a freak. I don't get off on pain. I'm not a freak._ Harry saw gray as he sagged against the table, the room spinning.  
  
Draco saw red. He leapt off the table and grabbed Ron by the throat. "Tell me you did not just call my mate that" he growled. Ron squealed as he was suddenly dragged by the throat almost five feet off the ground. Draco snarled, energy whipping into a roiling storm around him. Lightning crackled and struck the Hufflepuff table, incinerating it instantly. Hermione screamed, a loud, piercing sound, and dove under the Staff table. She cowered there, terrified, her arms wrapped around her head.  
  
Draco spun Ron around and around in a whirlwind. The benches and tables slowly dragged across the floor and lifted into the air, swirling around the terrified Weaseley. Draco added a line of fire to the whirlwind and, within seconds, Ron was encompassed in an inferno. He screamed, and water gushed forth from his body, extinguishing the flames. Draco slammed him into the wall repeatedly, his face twisted with rage.  
  
Severus rushed into the Great Hall, followed by Alanna, Xander, and Professor Dumbledore. They skidded to a halt, shocked, then Severus sprinted to his out of control Godson. "DRACO! STOP IT, NOW!" he yelled, terrified that he would kill the other boy. Alanna and Xander slipped quietly over to Harry. He was crying and his face was an awful shade of gray. Alanna cradled him to her chest and Xander rubbed his back.  
  
_He called me a masochist and a freak. Why did he call me that? _Harry asked them, tears streaming down his face.  
  
_ I don't know, Harry. He was wrong. You have to calm down, so Draco can calm down. He's going to kill him if you don't do something._ Xander projected an aura of calm around Harry. Within a few seconds, he nodded and concentrated on reaching Draco's mind.  
  
_ Draco, it's me. Please don't hurt him. What he said was very wrong, but if you hurt him then there'll be hell to pay. Come on, please calm down._ Harry prayed that he would get through to his enraged soul mate. Taking a deep breath, he forced feelings of calm and peace on the other boy. He could see Draco's face slowly untwist and the rage slowly leave his body. _That's it,_ he encouraged. _Please calm down. We don't need to be picking body parts off the ceiling for the next month.  
  
_ Draco slowly lowered the gibbering boy to the ground, where he collapsed in a boneless heap. Hermione dashed out from under the table and grabbed her terrified boyfriend in her arms, glaring daggers at Draco. Draco still floated almost four feet in the air. He turned to gaze at Harry, and quickly flew over to him to make sure he was ok.  
  
Harry and Draco gave each other the once over, and then calmly sat down to eat breakfast. Severus, Alanna, and Xander joined them.  
  
Five minutes into their meal, there was a loud knock on the doors to the Entrance Hall. Dumbledore regally stood and walked over to them. He opened the door. "Yes? Can I help you, sir?" he asked politely to whoever was standing there.  
  
"My name is Gareth McKnight, Wizarding Attorney at Law. I am looking for Harry Potter. My sources tell me that he has left his residence on Privet Drive and is staying here. May I come in? I have several legal documents for him." Dumbledore led a tall, balding man in very impressive robes into the Great Hall. The lawyer made a beeline for Harry, seated at the Slytherin table. Harry looked up and blinked at him, surprised.  
  
"Mr. Potter? I am Gareth McKnight, your parents' and Mr. Black's estate Lawyer. They left wills entrusted to my care, on the condition that they would be read on your sixteenth birthday. If we could move to a private room, with Mr. William Weaseley, Remus Lupin, Draco Malfoy, and Severus Snape, I could read the wills and be out of your way in under an hour." Harry gaped at him.  
  
"They had wills? How much are we talking about?" He turned to Dumbledore, who was sheepishly looking anywhere but at Harry. "Professor, what haven't you been telling me? Wait- let me rephrase that. Have you actually told me ANYTHING about my parents?" He turned back to the lawyer.  
  
"Of course, Mr. McKnight. Severus Snape is right across from me, Draco is the blond next to me, and I can reach Remus and Bill immediately." Harry stood up and walked back down into the dungeons. Severus stood up and, walking quickly, followed him.  
  
Severus led him into his quarters. _You can only fire talk in the Common Room, but you can Floo into every teacher's fireplace._ Harry strode over to the fireplace and, grabbing a fistful of Floo powder, threw it into the fire.  
  
"Grimmauld Place!" he shouted, and stuck his head into the Floo. "Remus, are you there?" He saw Remus, asleep in an overstuffed chair. "Remus Lupin, wake up!" he yelled. He could hear Severus snort and laugh over his shoulder. In front of him, Remus stretched and yawned.  
  
"Harry? What's wrong?" he asked, opening his eyes.  
  
"A lawyer is at Hogwarts. It seems that my parents and Sirius left us their wills, and you are requested to join us. Come on!" Remus staggered over to the fire, and threw a handful of powder in.  
  
"Watch your head. Hogwarts!" Harry pulled his head out of the fire, and Remus walked through.  
  
As soon as he had cleared the fireplace, Harry threw another fistful in. "Bill Weaseley!" he shouted. He stuck his head back into the fire, and was connected to Bill's study. A very beautiful lady who looked like Draco walked over to the Floo.  
  
"Who are you?" she asked, frowning.  
  
"Harry Potter, ma'am. I'm looking for Bill. Could you get him for me, please?"  
  
"I'm Cecilia, his wife. I'll get him right a way." She left, and a minute later, Bill came into view.  
  
"Hi, Harry, what can I do for you?" he asked casually.  
  
"My parents and Sirius left wills and the estate Lawyer says you have to be here for the reading. Are you busy?" Bill shook his head, suddenly looking grim.  
  
"Ceily, let's go. Sirius's will is going to be read."  
  
"Oh, Bill, are you going to be all right?" Harry backed his head out of the fireplace hurriedly. Ten seconds later, Bill and Cecilia stepped through. Severus gasped and hugged her.  
  
"Sev!" she exclaimed. Draco walked into the room at that moment, then ran over to her.  
  
"Ceily!" he yelled. She turned, and laughing, swung him into a hug.  
  
Harry stared at them. "I take it you two are related?" he asked  
  
"First cousins, actually." Cecilia ruffled Draco's hair. "You finally got rid of that damn hair gel. Thank God for small favors."  
  
"Ceily is my Dad's older brother's daughter. What are you doing with Bill Weaseley? Are you two still together?" he asked.  
  
"We were married two months ago, actually. Draco, I would like you to meet my wife, Cecilia Malfoy Weaseley" Bill proudly proclaimed. Draco's and Severus's jaws dropped.  
  
"YOU ELOPED???" they shouted, laughing.  
  
Draco hugged his cousin. "Good for you! I'm so happy you finally did it. You've only been dating for how long? Ten years?" He lightly punched Bill's shoulder. Bill laughed.  
  
"I've been asking her for three years, and she finally said yes to a wedding date. I know Mum is going to kill me, because she doesn't approve, and Ceily's dad would rather see me dead than married to his daughter, so we were married in Egypt. They don't know yet."  
  
Draco scowled. "That is going to be difficult. How are you going to tell them?"  
  
"Hopefully from very far away." They laughed and walked back into the Great Hall.  
  
  
  
As soon as Harry and Severus had left, Dumbledore bent into the Floo right behind the Teacher's table. He threw a handful of the Floo powder in, and shouted "Molly Weaseley!"  
  
He stuck his head into the Floo, and a few seconds later, Ginny, Fred, George, and Molly walked excitedly out of the fireplace.  
  
"Albus, Harry will be so thrilled! I can't wait to set up for his party tonight! He's going to be thrilled! Ginny! Help me set up the Room of Requirement!" Molly dragged her daughter up the stairs and out of the Great Hall, orders still echoing behind her.  
  
Fred and George winced and hid behind Alanna and Xander. "Save us," George begged.  
  
"Please," added Fred without missing a beat. "She wants us to," he shuddered "decorate".  
  
Ginny carefully slunk back into the Great Hall. "Is she right behind me?" she asked worriedly. The people in the Hall shook their heads no. "Good. I swear, I love Mum, but she's driving me insane." She flopped onto a bench, just as Harry, Draco, Severus, Remus, Bill, and Cecilia walked into the Hall, laughing.  
  
Fred, George, Ginny, and Ron jumped up and hugged their brother, talking and laughing excitedly. Bill held up his hands, and they stopped, confused.  
  
"Hey, you guys, I have something important to tell you. You know how Ceily and I have been dating for so long? Well we got married two months ago. Isn't that great?"  
  
"Married? To a Malfoy?" Ron's face screwed up. "That's- that's great, just great, Bill. Good for you." _What the hell is it with the Malfoys?  
_  
Draco snarled, and tried to throttle Ron, but Severus gripped him by his collar. "Harry, you are right. These do come in handy. Down Draco." Draco turned, infuriated.  
  
"Uncle SEV!" he shouted, tackling the Potions Master. "The HELL was THAT for?" Harry and Remus pulled Draco off Severus, laughing.  
  
Gareth McKnight rolled his eyes and stood up, brushing off his robes. "If you are quite finished, I have an eleven o'clock appointment and I do not wish to be late." Harry nodded and ushered Severus, Remus, and Bill out of the Hall. Draco and Cecilia followed, chatting amiably. Ginny and the twins brought up the rear, planning what they could do for Harry's birthday.  
  
"I think we should take him to the beach. He's never been there and it would be fun!" Ginny argued. The twins shook their heads.  
  
"Come on, let's take him to the clubs! We know some good ones that you have to be 15 to get into, so you could go." George reasoned. Ginny looked somewhat convinced, until Draco turned around.  
  
"So sorry, but Uncle Sev and I are taking him shopping. His lack of clothing and what he has had to put up with from those muggles of his has been completely appalling. He is going to the best malls, end of discussion."  
  
Ginny, Fred, and George stared at each other, and grinned. "Of course! That's perfect!" Ginny exclaimed. "We all know that he needs some good clothes, though I really like what he's wearing now..." She trailed off, staring at Harry thoughtfully. "Where did he get those? They are so cool" _and I would really like some of my own, though Mum would kill me, _she added with a sigh.  
  
Draco smirked._ The Weaselette has good taste! I'm shocked!  
  
_ Ginny pulled herself from wistfully imagining herself in skin tight leather pants, a crimson tube top, and some of those wicked spiked bracelets and chokers. "Thanks, Malfoy" she said absently. Draco choked.  
  
"What?" he sputtered. Ginny looked up at him.  
  
"You said I had good taste. Thanks." Shaking his head in bewilderment, Draco and the rest of them entered the Slytherin Common Rooms. They sat down around the roaring fire. Harry sat in between Draco and Severus and watched the lawyer worriedly. As soon as they were all comfortable, Gareth McKnight pulled three large envelopes out of the front of his robes, and broke the seal on the first. He cleared his throat, and began to read.  
  
"I, James Potter, being of sound mind and judgment, do bequeath the entirety of my holdings as well as the entirety of the Potter Family Fortune, with the exceptions of the Marauder's Fund, to my son Harold James Potter.  
  
The Holdings are, as follows:  
  
1. 624,900,000 galleons in the Potter Family Vault, as well as 45,000 galleons, 1500 sickles in my wife's and my personal vault.  
  
2. Potter Manor   
3. 1510 Godric's Hollow   
4. The Potter Summer Villa in Sicily   
5. South Surrey Apartment Complex  
  
I bequeath the sum of 100,000 galleons to the Marauder's Fund, as agreed upon by Myself, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew, as well as these inspiring words.  
  
"'Give them hell!'"  
  
Harry stared in shock. _How- how- how much?_ Draco laughed.  
  
_ Welcome to the world of the idle rich, Harry. I told you that you were loaded. Believe me now?_ Harry nodded dumbly. Mr. McKnight continued, opening the second will.  
  
"I, Sirius Black, being of sound mind and judgment, do bequeath the following items to the following people.  
  
To my godson, Harry, I leave exactly one half of my inheritance, and the majority of my estates. They are as follows:  
  
1. 48,000,000 galleons   
2. Black Manor, which is co owned with Draco Malfoy   
3. The Black Summer Villa in France  
  
To my Dear Remus, I leave  
  
1. 24,000,000 galleons   
2. 12 Grimmauld Place  
  
To my adopted brother, Bill Weaseley, I leave  
  
1. 24,000,000 galleons   
2. My summer home in Egypt  
  
To Draco Malfoy, my second cousin, as my closest blood relative, you are entitled to Black Manor because it needs to stay in the family. If you EVER invite that bastard Voldemort there, I'll come back to make your life hell, understood?  
  
I bequeath the sum of 100,000 galleons to the Marauder's fund, as agreed upon by myself and the rest of the Marauders. To our future generations, I leave this word of advice: "'Revenge is a dish best served cold.(1) Get 'em where it hurts!'"  
  
Harry turned to stare at Bill. "What do you mean, adopted little brother?" Bill laughed and held up his left hand, showing a thin scar exactly like Severus's. Harry gasped and nodded in understanding.  
  
Mr. McKnight waited patiently until they had quieted down again, then continued. He opened the last of the envelopes carefully.  
  
"I, Lily Evans Potter, being of sound mind and judgment, do bequeath the entirety of Merlin's Fortune to my son, Harold James Potter. I-"  
  
"WHAT?????" Everyone roared at once, then stared at Harry as if he were some weird specimen under a microscope. Harry himself had passed out.  
  
Three minutes later, a much revived Harry was sitting up, supported by Draco and Severus. "Who's fortune?" he asked weakly. Mr. McKnight harrumphed and continued.  
  
"Merlin's fortune to my son, Harold James Potter, as well as the entirety of my personal vault. They are as follows:  
  
1. Merlin's fortune which is estimated at about 30,000,000,000 galleons (Harry gasped and almost fainted again)   
2. Merlin's castle, located directly below Stonehenge   
3. James's and my wedding bands   
4. The ruby necklace James bought me for our first anniversary  
  
To Severus Snape, I leave this envelope, gold key, and the instructions to look after my son. Should anything happen to Sirius, you are his legal guardian. Make sure that he is NEVER placed in the care of my sister and her husband, Vernon. This letter should reach you at the time of my death. However, the will should not be read until Harry's sixteenth birthday."  
  
Mr. McKnight blinked and reread the last part. "I am heartily sorry, sir, but I was under strict orders not to open this until Mr. Potter's sixteenth birthday, and the letter was inside." He handed over the letter and a large golden key to Severus, clearly expecting retribution. Severus glared stonily at him then stood up and left to read the letter privately.  
  
Harry sat there, panicking._ I was never to go to the Dursleys? My mum wanted him to be my guardian. What happened?_ He hung his head in his hands, tears filling his eyes. _It didn't have to happen. I could have been safe. He never would have been able to lay a finger on me. Why? _Draco hugged him close, sharing his misery.  
  
Snape skidded back into the room, looking extremely upset. "You say this was INSIDE the will, not separate???" he demanded.  
  
"Yes, that is the way Albus Dumbledore handed them to me." Snape's face turned a strange purple color, before he completely relaxed.  
  
"Revenge is a dish best served cold... Wise words, Black. Indeed, I shall get him where it hurts." Severus quietly mused, then shook his head, as if to clear his thoughts. Everyone stared up at him expectantly. "We thank you for your time, Mr. McKnight. How soon can we arrange to have the necessary banking done?" Severus politely inquired.  
  
The lawyer looked relieved. "The paperwork is already drawn up at Gringotts, sirs. All they need are the amounts and your signatures."  
  
"Very well, we shall be there later on today, probably within two hours." Severus stood and extended his hand. Harry, Draco, and Bill copied him. Mr. McKnight shook their hands.  
  
"Thank you for coming today" Harry said quietly, as they all stood and walked back to the Great Hall. Gareth McKnight immediately used the Floo in the Great Hall, after promising that he would send the wills immediately to Gringotts so they could augment the paperwork.  
  
They had once again sat down, when Draco lurched to his feet, terror and agony stamped across his features. Harry staggered, feeling it too.  
  
"Mother" he managed before bolting to the Entrance Hall, Harry in tow. The door creaked open and he skidded to a halt in front of a bloody figure lying on the steps, staining the Entrance Hall floor a deep red.  
  
"Draco" the figure gasped. "Help me." Draco, with a tenderness that approximately half of the people behind him even knew he was capable of, he lifted the figure in his arms. Harry and Severus gaped, staring at Narcissa Malfoy's bloody and broken body cradled in her son's grasp.  
  
Draco's aura flared brightly, eliciting a gasp and moan from his mother. _Too slow, she's healing too slow and bleeding too much. Harry, she's going to die!_ Draco thought frantically. Harry came up behind him, and laying his hands on the now comatose Narcissa Malfoy, flared his aura as well. With a strangled scream, she shot into a sitting position. The bleeding slowed and stopped, and the many lacerations disappeared. Her other injuries healed as well.  
  
_ Draco, she still has internal injuries. I don't know how much more of this she can take. Are we going to hurt her worse?_ Harry asked, eyeing their patient critically.  
  
_ She has to be all right. I won't let her die! She's all I have left!_ Draco pushed with his aura, forcing her numerous internal injuries to heal, starting to hyperventilate. Harry thought a moment, then nodded and applied his magic to a completely different train of thought. _Harry, what are you doing?? Help me heal her!  
  
She lost a lot of blood, so she needs blood, or she will die. If we were Muggles, she'd be getting a transfusion, but I think I can get her red bone marrow to go into overdrive and produce more red blood cells. The only problem is that she needs fluids. Hey, Uncle Sev? How do you put fluids in a person without having them drink it or opening a vein?  
  
Why would you open a vein?_ Severus asked, slightly disgusted.  
  
_ My aunt's a nurse. Muggles use intravenous solutions to get fluids into people who can't swallow anything. They actually work really well._ Harry thought about the idea. He conjured a bag of sterile saline and an IV line. He made a slit in her arm above her elbow and, forming a needle on the end of the IV line, slid it into her vein. He heated the fluids to body temperature and forced them to rapidly flow into her vein. Madam Pomfrey ran through the doors of the Great Hall and dashed over to them.  
  
"How is she?" she asked hurriedly.  
  
Draco was still hyperventilating. "She's gonna die! She's gonna die!"  
  
"She will live, DRACO! Stop FREAKING OUT!" Harry slapped him across the face, hard. Draco jerked backwards, his hands flying to his face in shock.  
  
"You- you hit me." Stunned, Draco rubbed his stinging cheek.  
  
"You're not freaking out any more, are you?" Harry turned back to Narcissa, checking her vital signs with his aura. "She's going to be fine, Draco. In fact, she should be waking up soon." True to his word, Narcissa stirred and opened her eyes. She blinked at the sight of Harry Potter leaning over her, a green glow emanating from his hand.  
  
"What? Where am I? Is this hell?" she croaked. Harry stared at her, shocked, then started chuckling.  
  
Draco pushed Harry out of the way. "Mum! Are you all right?" he asked, worriedly. He was just about wringing his hands. Narcissa raised the arm not hooked to an IV and brushed his cheek, staring at the red mark.  
  
"Draco! What happened to your face?" she asked, concerned. He jabbed a finger at Harry.  
  
"He slapped me" he pouted, still shocked. Narcissa raised herself up on her elbows, wincing slightly at the movement.  
  
"Why did you touch my son?" she asked, glaring daggers at him.  
  
Harry smirked. "Because he was hyperventilating and about to pass out on top of you, which would have injured you further." He eased her back down, and removed the now empty IV from her arm, healing the incision he had made in the process. Narcissa watched him warily.  
  
"Draco, why is he helping me?" she asked, confused and worried. Harry snickered.  
  
"Mrs. Malfoy, it might be because your son ASKED for my help. Really, I don't mind, considering that I healed him single handedly from his injuries at the beginning of the summer. You might say I have a knack for it." Harry dusted himself off, getting blood all over his clothes in the process. "Damn. Now I'll have to go change, and I liked this outfit. Sorry Draco, I got blood on your shirt."  
  
"That was my favorite shirt, jackass!" Draco scowled.  
  
"So, will another into existence. And, next time, I won't help your demigod ass while your mother is bleeding all over the floor, ok?" With a smirk, Harry walked back down into the Slytherin Dorms to change. Draco stayed at his mother's side as she waved off Madam Pomfrey.  
  
"What was he talking about? Will another shirt into existence? DEMIGOD? Draco, explain now!" She glared as Madam Pomfrey continued to fuss over her. "Madam, I am fine. They healed me, and I feel wonderful. Now, leave me alone!" She sat up and pulled her robes around her, grimacing at the mess.  
  
"Mother, are you sure you're all right?" Draco asked, helping her to her feet. She swayed for a second and, after regaining her balance, nodded determinedly. Draco concentrated, then conjured a silver robe with midnight blue trim. She gaped, and he ducked his head.  
  
"Draco, it's beautiful. How did you do that?" Alanna and Xander walked over to them, smirking.  
  
"Um, Mum, this is Alanna and Xander. They can explain it better than I can." Narcissa, Alanna, and Xander sat down at the restored Hufflepuff table. Draco ran quickly down to the Slytherin Rooms to change as well, since he was also covered in blood.  
  
He and Harry returned about three minutes later, in the same outfits but completely clean. _I still don't get how you did that, Harry, _Draco complained.  
  
_ I just wished that I was clean and it happened. Really, it was will magic.  
_  
_And how did I get clean then?_ Draco asked curiously. Narcissa stared as her son and his supposed worst enemy walked back into the Hall together without fighting.  
  
I_ just wished that those leather pants of yours weren't ruined. It just kinda happened after that.  
  
Oh.  
_  
Narcissa turned back to Alanna and Xander, wide eyed. "What did I miss? What is going on?"  
  
They looked at each other. Alanna wearily started over. "Draco is a demigod. He is like us, and Harry is his soul mate." Narcissa stared at Alanna, obviously not comprehending.  
  
"What does that mean? What is going on?"  
  
"They are telepathically bonded, and are meant to be together. They are soul mates, one soul in two bodies."  
  
"MY SON IS NOT GAY!"  
  
Alanna sighed. _Here we go again, _she sent Xander. Xander rested his head in his hands, exasperated.  
  
Xander raised his head and said calmly to Narcissa, "They cannot help who their soul mate is, nor can they help the gender-"  
  
But he was cut off as Narcissa screeched "WELL I SURE AS HELL CAN HELP IT! IF HE WANTS TO BE WITH MY SON, THERE IS NO WAY HE'S STAYING A BOY! Hearing this, Xander swallowed hard as Alanna turned white behind him. "That poor, poor boy."  
  
They all turned as they heard the sound of a high pitched shriek, and the sound of a body hitting the floor. "Not to worry," Draco called, "that was just Harry." He casually bent over and picked up Harry's unconscious body from the floor and carried him over to the Slytherin table. "Wakey wakey!" he yelled with an evil glint in his eye. Harry sat up, rubbing his head. He blanched.  
  
"Don't let her turn me into a girl, please! I mean it, Malfoy, if you do..." Harry cringed, grabbing his package to reassure himself it was still there. Draco laughed. Narcissa stared at the both of them in shock.  
  
"Draco, dear, don't tell me you are ok with all of this?" she asked, confused. "I thought you and Pansy were getting married?"  
  
Draco rolled his eyes. "Mother, Pansy is an annoying hag. How often must we go through this?"  
  
"Don't be ridiculous. Pansy is a sweet girl. However, if you must share your life with that person" she waved at Harry, who bristled, "then you have to have heirs. Therefore, one of you must be a girl."  
  
_NOT IT!_ shouted Draco gleefully.  
  
Harry scowled. _This is of course assuming that we are going to have any sort of relationship. I told you- HELL NO!_ Harry started to bang his head into the table again.  
  
_ If you give yourself a concussion, I'm going to laugh._ Draco floated in midair, slowly turning flips. Harry followed him, and they sat, upside down, on the ceiling of the Great Hall. Narcissa stared at them in shock.  
  
"I see what you mean" she finally said to Alanna and Xander. "So, how powerful is he?" she asked, studying her son.  
  
"He and Harry have the power to take on Satan and win," Alanna said, referring to Clautius's title.  
  
Narcissa stared at them "Satan? Why would they?"  
  
"Because that is why Harry was created. He is the Human champion for our side. He is the only one who can destroy evil once and for all." Narcissa's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.  
  
"How much of this does he know?"  
  
"All of it. We don't keep secrets from our siblings, unlike Dumbledore. That is wrong."  
  
Cecilia finally poked her two cents in. "Aunt Narcissa, stop harping about Harry. They are soul mates. That precedes all arranged marriages. You know that as well as I do. That's why I married Bill." Narcissa stared at her, mouth hanging open in shock.  
  
"Yeah" Ginny chimed in. "Besides, you WANT Harry and your son to be together. Harry's the sole heir of Merlin's Fortune." Narcissa staggered from shock, completely floored.  
  
"He's WHAT?" she finally asked, then stared at Harry with a calculating gleam in her eyes. _That's more money than anyone else in the world... _She grinned.  
  
Harry floated back down to the ground, pulling Draco with him. "Come on, you promised me a shopping trip. I keep waiting and waiting, but we aren't going anywhere. I want to leave NOW!" He tugged on Draco's arm. Taking this as a sign, Bill, Cecilia, Severus, Remus, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George moved to the Floo.  
  
Dudley and Petunia walked into the Great Hall. "Hey, where's everyone going?" Petunia asked.  
  
"We are going SHOPPING!" cheered Ginny, as if that explained everything.  
  
"Cool. Harry, do you mind if we tag along? We have some things to get as well." At Harry's nod, they walked over to the group. One at a time, they went through the Floo to the Leaky Cauldron.  
  
Narcissa, Molly, Alanna, Xander, and Dumbledore remained behind. After everyone else had left, Narcissa turned to Molly.  
  
"Is he really Merlin's heir?" she asked conversationally. Molly raised her eyebrows, confused as to why Mrs. Malfoy would actually be speaking to her civilly.  
  
"Actually, yes, he is." Alanna stated from right behind Narcissa. Draco's mother turned and gave her a calculating look.  
  
"How would you know, and who exactly are you?" she asked the demigoddess. Alanna smirked.  
  
"I should know who my descendants are. Merlin was my son. I am Alanna, the demigoddess in charge of this miserable planet," she said, with a sweeping bow. Xander walked up behind her.  
  
"I am Alexander, her soul mate and the demigod in charge of this forsaken dump." He also bowed. Narcissa's mouth dropped open.  
  
"So they both are really-"  
  
"Exactly like us. Except, they are almost three times as powerful as we are. They could, if they wanted to, take on our mother, God, and would give Her a run for her money." Smirking they led the dumbfounded mortals out of the Great Hall to prepare for Harry's birthday party.  
  
A/N: Hey, twenty pages later, and I'm going strong. This story is seriously taking over my priorities. It is so much fun that I even dream about the next chapters. You have some good stuff ahead, especially if you love Goth clothing and Heavy Metal like I do. Thank you to all the people that reviewed, and especially the ones that offered me safe haven. But, my sis has lost her cattle prod, so I'm safe for now.  
  
(1) Klingon Proverb. My parents are trekkies 


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Craw/Brad: What's the point of having all that money if you don't spend some???? Besides, shopping is fun- and I don't think you can will stuff like CDs into existence. Copyright infringement and all.  
  
However, our wonderful Slytherins have to teach Harry the joy of blowing 2 grand in three hours. So, without further ado, enjoy!  
  
Chapter 10  
  
With a cough, Harry stumbled out of the Floo in the Leaky Cauldron. Tom, the bartender, grabbed his arm to steady him. "Alright, there, Mr. Potter?" he asked. Harry nodded and moved out of the way. Draco strode easily out of the Floo right after him. He saw Harry, still stumbling, and chortled.  
  
"What, can't you even walk without tripping?" he asked, sniggering. Harry shot him the glare of Death. Draco pretended to die on the spot and collapsed, laughing hysterically. Professor Snape strode out of the Floo to see his Godson on the floor and his nephew standing over him. Remus, Bill, and Ceily came through in rapid succession behind him. They all slammed into him and fell in a heap on the floor.  
  
"What is the meaning of this?" Severus asked. Harry pouted.  
  
"Dumbass here was teasing me!" Draco pouted from the floor.  
  
"I'll have you know that I am very smart, Potter. It's you that can't even get out of the Floo without tripping and falling all over yourself." Draco stretched and stood up.  
  
Harry glared daggers at the Floo, and, inadvertently Ron and Hermione, who were exiting the Floo one right after the other. "Stupid invention. I hate traveling by Floo" Harry grumbled, earning a snort from Severus and strange looks from two very confused Gryffindors. Fred, George, and Ginny walked calmly through to see the three adults on the floor.  
  
"Did we miss something?" asked George as he surveyed the scene. They moved as Dudley and Petunia stumbled out of the Floo, tripping on several people in their way. Dudley crashed into a table, reducing it to kindling and shaking the whole building. Harry calmly repaired the table, and they left the Leaky Cauldron, everyone except Petunia and Dudley heading to Gringotts. Petunia and Dudley left Diagon Alley altogether to go to Petunia's bank. They would meet up with the rest of them when it was time to return to Hogwarts.  
  
Harry and company walked through the solid gold doors of Gringotts. Immediately, two goblins in expensive looking robes approached them.  
  
"Mr. Harold Potter? I am Balderdash, Chairman of Gringotts. This is my personal assistant, Bugger." Draco blanched, and Harry was extremely confused and disturbed. *What does Bugger mean?* Draco refused to answer him.  
  
If you and your associates would come with me, we can settle the matter of your inheritance at once." With a slight smirk, Harry and everyone else followed Balderdash into a large conference hall. Seated at a forty foot table were two other goblins, who both stood and bowed.  
  
"These are my associates, Hoodwink and Nincompoop." Balderdash led them to seats and gestured for them to sit down.  
  
*Can we really take seriously someone named Nincompoop?* Harry asked Draco privately. Draco choked back a laugh and glared at Harry before his face slipped back into impassivity.  
  
"Mr. Potter, if you could sign these documents" Hoodwink placed half a dozen papers in front of him, "then you will have full access to your vaults." The goblin placed similar packets in front of Bill, Severus, Draco, and Remus.  
  
Harry read over the papers quickly. They looked straightforward and everything seemed to be in order, so he signed them. Everyone else signed, and Bugger collected the documents. He then pulled out three keys, and handed one each to Bill, Remus, and Harry. They rose, and Balderdash led them back out into the main lobby.  
  
"Griphook!" Another goblin came scurrying over to them. "Take them down into their vaults, and be quick about it!" Grumbling under his breath, the second goblin, Griphook, led them to two conjoined carts waiting for them.  
  
"Come on, we haven't got all day." The goblin ushered them into the carts: Severus, Harry, Ginny, Draco, Bill, and Ceily in one and Fred, George, Ron Hermione, and Remus in the other, and they were off. The carts rushed headlong down the rickety track at what felt like ninety miles an hour. Hermione whooped, loving every minute of it. Everyone else glared at her, disbelieving that anyone could enjoy the insane ride. Hermione shrugged.  
  
"I love roller coasters. This ride is better than any roller coaster I have ever been on."  
  
Draco and Severus asked Harry *What's a roller coaster?* Harry shrugged, having never been to an amusement park in his life.  
  
After three minutes, they suddenly slammed to a stop in front of two large vaults. Griphook grabbed two keys and hopped out of the cart. "Mr. Weaseley, Mr. Lupin, these are your new vaults. All of your previous accounts have been moved into here as well."  
  
Remus and Bill slid out of the carts and looked over their inheritance. They both nonchalantly filled a sack full of Galleons, as if they had that much money every day. *Oh WOW!* they thought. *Oh my GOD this is a lot of cash!*  
  
Once they had returned to the cart, they continued down the track for more than five minutes of gut wrenching twists and turns at breakneck speed before stopping again. This time, it was Harry's turn to hop out after Griphook. Harry walked to his vault, Draco and Severus at his heels.  
  
*OH MY GOD* was the only thought running through his mind as he stared at one continuous pile of gold that filled the entire vault. He stood at the entrance, unable to see the back wall or even walk more than a foot into the vault because of the sheer amount of money. Griphook stood a foot behind the three of them, tapping his foot impatiently.  
  
"Griphook, is this just the Potter Fortune, or is this both combined?" Severus asked the goblin.  
  
"This vault is the largest of the Gringotts bank vaults, and it houses both Merlin's fortune and the Potter Fortune, as the late Mr. and Mrs. Potter had requested at the time of their marriage."  
  
*Harry, as a word of advice, I would put your other account in here, since you are the only one drawing money from this account.* Severus counseled as Harry filled a bag to bursting with Galleons. *Are you sure you are going to need so much money?* Severus asked. *The exchange rate is ten pounds to the Galleon, after all. You have almost L2500 there.* Harry picked up four more Galleons, and nodded.  
  
*You did tell me I was going shopping. Besides, what's the point of having so much money if I can't have some fun?* Shrugging, Harry turned and tripped over Ron and Hermione, who had slipped out of the cart behind them. Both of their jaws were hanging open so wide that Harry could see their tonsils.  
  
"Is that- that all YOURS???" Ron managed to squeak, his voice nearing the pitch of a dog whistle. Draco smirked, enjoying his discomfort and incredulity.  
  
"Of course, Weaseley. Merlin's Fortune was rumored at over 30,000,000,000 Galleons. Potter could buy a small country with that kind of money." Draco polished his nails on his leather pants. Ron turned to him, still gaping.  
  
Draco yawned. "Harry, are you done? I want to visit my vault, and I imagine Uncle Sev would like to make a withdrawn as well." Ron shut his mouth with a snap as Harry strolled out of his vault.  
  
"What? Ron, you look pale. What's wrong?" Harry asked, then realized. *Oh shit, he's never seen so much money in his life. No wonder he's freaking out.* Ron didn't even hear him, he was engrossed with the enormous amount of gold spilling out of Harry's vault.  
  
Draco stared at him then started laughing. *Harry, none of us have seen that much money. Merlin's Fortune makes you the richest wizard in the world, possibly the richest PERSON in the world. The rest of us aren't freaking out, so why should he?*  
  
They got back into the cart, and traveled at breakneck speed back up to the higher levels. They stopped a level below Bill's and Remus's new vaults. Draco and Severus got out of the carts, producing keys. Griphook took the keys from them and opened the vaults. Draco and Severus went into their respective vaults, and Harry stood where he could see into both vaults.  
  
*Draco, you are not to take more than one hundred galleons. Your mother would kill me.* Sev's amused voice filled Harry's and Draco's minds.  
  
*Fine, I'll put some back* Draco grumbled. The sound of more than 'some' Galleons hitting other Galleons filled the air as Draco emptied more than three quarters of his bag. *Spoilsport* he groused, glaring at his Godfather. Severus snickered and ruffled his hair. Draco ducked away from his hand and climbed back into the cart. The cart stopped, the last stop, at Fred and George's vault. Fred and George, having earned already a considerable amount from their business, scooped Galleons by the handful into a bag.  
  
They left the vaults, and Harry, Draco, and Bill exchanged their money for Muggle Pounds. Bill slipped L500 into both Ron and Ginny's pockets, assuring them that it was a gift. Hermione already had several hundred that she had taken from her bank account at the beginning of the summer.  
  
They walked out of Gringotts. "So, where are we going?" Harry asked.  
  
"I really don't want to go into Muggle London," Remus answered. "I have a lot of shopping I have to do in Diagon Alley as it is." Fred and George agreed with him quickly, anxious to get more supplies for their joke business.  
  
Severus and Bill turned to the five teenagers. "Draco, Harry, behave yourselves. We are letting you go together to the mall of your choosing. STAY together. Contact me when you decide to come back, and we will meet you back at the Leaky Cauldron." Harry and Draco nodded dutifully. *I mean it, you two. Do NOT torment them, and if you split up, make sure you have a meeting place.* To his surprise, Ginny nodded along with Draco and Harry. *Why is Ginny nodding?*  
  
"Because I can hear you. I'm a mind and fire elemental, silly."  
  
Severus blinked at this new bit of information, then nodded. *You are going to have to tell me how you discovered your powers.*  
  
Draco and Harry stood next to her, dumbfounded. *I'll tell you after our trip.* Severus nodded.  
  
Next to them Bill was giving the same instructions to Ron and Hermione, with a different twist. "Ron, if Harry and Draco report to me that you two skipped out on them to find a secluded corner of the mall to make out, I'm gonna personally hex you into the middle of next week. Have fun, and stay together. Oh, and Ron? Ginny has far different taste in clothing than you do. Do NOT embarrass her or there will be hell to pay." Ron rolled his eyes, but grumbled his agreement.  
  
Harry, Draco, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione, anxious to go, quickly said their goodbyes and left Diagon Alley. Bill and Severus watched them quickly blend into the throng of Muggles walking about their business. "I think they'll be fine" Bill remarked.  
  
"And, if they aren't, Draco and Harry both know some incredible hexes. They can take care of themselves." Severus smirked as they turned and walked, eager to do some shopping of their own.  
  
  
  
Hermione and Harry led the way, both of them having been in Muggle London before. Draco, Ron, and Ginny stared, wide eyed, taking it all in. Hermione herded them towards a bus stop.  
  
"If I remember correctly, the biggest mall in England, the Queen's Court, is about five blocks from here. It is totally awesome. We can take a bus to the mall. It should come by in about five minu- RON, GET OUT OF TRAFFIC!" Ron looked up and waved to her from the middle of the street. A car inched behind him, blaring the horn. Finally, the driver rolled down the window.  
  
"Hey, kid, what are you, crazy? Get your ass out of the road!" He swerved around the flabbergasted Ron and sped off.  
  
"Did you see that? Cool! Those are better than anything my dad ever had! Ginny, get out here! This is awesome!" Ron skipped in the middle of the busy intersection. Horns blared and cars had to swerve to avoid him. Hermione let out a shriek of anger and exasperation and dashed into the road, almost getting run over in the process. She grabbed Ron's arm and dragged him back to sidewalk. Someone sped past them, flipping the bird out the window.  
  
Hermione screamed back. "EAT SHIT, YOU FUCKER!!!!" Ron and everyone else in proximity gaped at her.  
  
"'Mione, was that really necessary?" Ron inquired, staying put on the sidewalk where Hermione had put him.  
  
"Ron, didn't your mother tell you NOT to play in traffic?" Harry asked, laughing his ass off. He watched Draco use cleaning after cleaning spell to remove every trace of dirt from the bus stop bench before sitting down. Ten seconds later, that proved to be a waste of time because the bus pulled up to the stop.  
  
The driver opened the door. "Where ya goin?" he asked.  
  
"Excuse me, sir, does this bus go to Queen's Court?" she asked politely. The driver nodded, and they walked inside.  
  
"That'll be a pound a piece." Harry handed the driver a five pound note, and they headed to the back of the bus.  
  
"Hey, I want to go up top!" Ginny squealed. Harry nodded.  
  
"That sounds good. Hey, let's go." Everyone climbed the stairs and sat in the very top of the double decker bus.  
  
"The wind is mussing my hair!" complained Draco. *I wonder how it looks windblown?*  
  
Harry and Ginny laughed hysterically. Ron and Hermione were already ignoring everyone, wrapped up in, ahem, each other.  
  
*Do they ever come up for air?* wondered Draco, staring at them in fascination. *So far, three minutes and fifteen seconds and not one breath. How do they do it?* Harry gagged, not even wanting to picture it. He turned around to see Ginny gagging as well.  
  
*I wish they would knock it off. Do they have any sense of propriety? That is so gross.* Ginny rolled her eyes, grimacing. Harry and Draco sniggered.  
  
*She is priceless! How did she wind up in that family? God, I wish I had a little sister like her.* Draco thought, envious of Ron for the first time in his life. *Harry, Ron really has no idea how utterly cool she is, does he?*  
  
*Nope, he still treats her like a baby. It's really sad.* Harry mentally groaned, remembering all to well the fights about Ginny trying to get her family to treat her like a normal fourteen year old, not a three year old.  
  
*Yeah, and I HATE it! They treat me like I'm two! It's ridiculous! Ron freaked when he found out I was dating Michael, and when he found out I was with Dean, he tried to kill him!* Ginny scowled at the memory.  
  
*That little- DAMN IT he should realize that you don't need a sitter!* Draco snapped, for some reason completely pissed off.  
  
*Draco, I didn't know that you cared so much.* Ginny batted her eyes at him. Draco groaned and shook his head.  
  
*I don't know why, but I care. So sue me already.* Harry laughed at him.  
  
*Dude, you are feeling my feelings for her, compounded by your realizing that she is pretty cool to hang out with.* Harry stared at a smirking Ginny. *She's like a sister to me, the only sister I have ever had.* Ginny sniffed comically and sat on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist.  
  
Ron looked up and gaped at them. "Harry, get off my sister!!!" He started to get up but Hermione pulled him back down and started kissing him. He didn't even protest and exuberantly kissed her back. Ginny turned green and buried her head in Harry's shoulder.  
  
*Make it stop, please make it stop. I can't take it any more. They've been like this all summer and I want it to stop!* Harry hugged her and Draco patted her back comfortingly.  
  
*There, there. If they are making out, they can't treat you like you're three, can they?* Ginny sniffed and nodded her head slowly, grinning wickedly. Draco and Harry grinned back at her.  
  
*FREEDOM!* she shouted gleefully. They laughed the rest of the way to the mall.  
  
*Harry, can I adopt her?* Draco asked him as they exited the bus. Ginny grinned at him.  
  
*How about you both adopt me?* she asked cheekily as they entered the mall.  
  
Draco's head shot up and he stood stock still for a second. *Harry, is this heaven?* he asked, in awe of his surroundings. *Have I died and gone to heaven?* He gazed hungrily at the four stories of shopping mall in front of him. Harry stared at him, increasingly worried.  
  
*Uh-oh.* Harry really didn't like the gleam in Draco's eyes or the manic excitement he could feel through their ever present bond.  
  
Draco grabbed Harry's hand and dragged further into the mall. "Come on!" he yelled back at Ron and Hermione, who were staring at him in shock. "I want to SHOP!"  
  
Draco dragged them through the first level of the store, chattering like a three year old who had discovered (and eaten) the entire contents of a candy store. Harry and Ginny walked with him, Harry acting as a tour guide for their many questions.  
  
Harry, how do these- what are they called- exeltators- work?" Ginny asked as they stepped onto the escalator going to the second floor.  
  
"Escalators, and there is a moving tread underneath that electricity runs in a big loop, so it moves us upwards." They hopped off, Ron and Hermione rolling their eyes so fast they were on permanent spin cycle.  
  
"How do they do it without magic?" Draco asked, genuinely confused. *How do they get it to run without an ever last spell?*  
  
"It continuously uses electricity, which, well I'm not sure how it's generated or how to explain it. It's like the Muggle version of magic. It runs everything."  
  
Draco slowly nodded. They all jumped as Hermione let out a squeal. "Abercrombie and Fitch!" she shrieked and rushed into at large store across the hallway. Ron followed her eagerly.  
  
*Don't you mean Abercrombie and Bitch?* wondered Ginny. Draco snorted.  
  
"Come on, Harry, they've got some really cool stuff in here!" Hermione grabbed Harry's hand and bodily dragged him into the store. Harry gulped, suddenly surrounded by very preppy, wholesome clothing.  
  
"Hermione, this really isn't my style of clothing."  
  
"Oh hush. You need some better stuff than that crap you have on. Come on, just try on some outfits for me. It'll be fun." She started picking out clothing at random and shoved it into Harry's arms. "Go on, the changing room is over there." She pointed at the back wall.  
  
*Where's the black? Where's the chains? Draco, HELP!* Grimacing in slight disgust, Draco and Ginny resolutely followed the protesting Harry into the store. They arrived just in time to see Hermione shoving Harry, arms full of khakis and polo shirts, into a changing stall.  
  
"Um, Hermione, do you see us forcing you to wear chains and tube tops?" Ginny asked, coming up behind the other girl.  
  
"No, and you couldn't make me wear that if you tried." Hermione crossed her arms with a sniff.  
  
"Then why are you doing that to Harry? He likes the way he looks. You are really hurting his feelings by making him feel like something is wrong with him because of the way he has chosen to dress himself. Besides, Alanna and Xander dress like that, and they are really cool," Ginny pleaded with her.  
  
"But he looks so weird. Why can't he look normal? Why does he actually want to wear that? All that black isn't healthy. It's making him depressed." Hermione tried to justify her actions.  
  
Draco smirked behind Ginny. "Actually, Granger, he's happier than he has ever been in his life. And, he isn't suicidal any more, which is a step up from before." A sales representative sidled up to Draco.  
  
"Um, sir, will you be purchasing anything here?" Draco sneered at her.  
  
"Of course not. Do I look like a loser?"  
  
"Um, would you leave, then? You're scaring away all our customers." Draco looked around, snickering. What people that were left were staring at him as if he was the epitome of evil and edging for the door.  
  
"Come on, Harry. We're too evil for this place." Harry walked out, scowling, dressed in a light blue polo shirt and a pair of stone khaki pants. Draco did a double take then started laughing hysterically. Ginny stared at him, terrified.  
  
"Oh hell, Potter, you look like the poster boy of Wizarding Weekly!" Draco sniggered. Harry's scowl deepened.  
  
"Honestly, Harry, please change back. You're scaring me," Ginny whispered, hiding behind Draco. Harry let out a sigh of relief and scurried back into the changing room, reemerging thirty seconds later in his previous clothing.  
  
Hermione pouted. "But, Harry, you looked good! I think you looked much better in the clothes I picked out."  
  
"Whatever, Hermione. You aren't my mother and I'm not a doll. Stop trying to dress me." Harry spat, angry at his so called friend. *Who does she think she is, anyway! I'm sixteen, not two! I can pick out my own clothing, thankyouverymuch!* Hermione's eyes welled up with tears. *Oh great, now she's going to cry and tell me how little I appreciate what she does for me. What did I do to deserve this?*  
  
"Harry Potter, that was rude! I'm just trying to help you and you snap at me!" Harry jerked his head at Ginny and Draco and they turned to walk out of the store. "Don't you walk away from me! I'm talking to you!"  
  
Harry turned back around. "Well, maybe I don't want to talk to you. Did you even think about that? I'm tired of this, Hermione. You don't respect who I am and you think that everything I'm going through is some phase. This isn't just a phase. I'm finally happy with who I am. Why can't you accept that? We'll find you when we are done shopping. That's the one thing telepathy is good for." With that, Harry, Draco, and Ginny strode out of the store.  
  
They walked back to the escalators, where, right in front of them, Harry noticed a directory. "Hmm, this is interesting. Let's go to the basement, which for some reason, someone scrawled, in magic marker on the label, 'the Dungeon'." They stepped onto the escalator, determined to find this "Dungeon".  
  
Harry, Draco, and Ginny wandered the first floor of the mall, searching for an access to the basement level. All around them, the Muggles were giving them a wide berth. *What gives? Do we really look that scary?* Harry asked. Ginny smirked, and Harry did a double take.  
  
*Oh Harry, I don't know- if you saw someone who looked as pissed off and dangerous as you do right now, I think you'd give that person space as well.* Ginny continued to smirk at him and sent him a mental image of the expression on his face. Harry's eyes glowed a deep viridian, and he looked angry enough to make Voldemort and his Death Eaters turn tail and run.  
  
*Oh damn* he chuckled, sneering slightly. *that is bad. I probably should try to look a little more cheerful.* Draco stared at him, incredibly disturbed by the sneer.  
  
*Harry, please tone down the sneer. It makes you look really creepy.* When Harry tried to paste a cheerful grin on his face, it looked so evil that a random girl watching him passed out from fright. Harry saw her topple over. *What the hell?*  
  
*You really should tone that down, Mr. Potter. That could become lethal, if you aren't careful.* A new voice broke into their conversation. The three of them whipped around, looking for the source of the voice.  
  
*Who are you?* Ginny and Draco asked, staring suspiciously at everyone around them. Harry just closed his eyes and focused.  
  
*Where- THERE! I found you!* He directed his gaze at a woman who looked to be in her late twenties. She, strangely, looked like Alanna, but had waist length curly black hair, a deep mocha tan, and PURPLE eyes. She was dressed in a black and silver tube top, an extremely tight pair of leather hip huggers, black knee high platform boots, and a black leather, floor length trench coat. She grinned and sauntered over to them.  
  
"Hello," she all but purred in a deep, throaty voice.  
  
*Damn* thought Ginny as she raised her eyebrows in surprise. *I wish I could talk like that.*  
  
The strange woman laughed. "Thank you, I'll take that as a compliment. Mow, Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy, and Miss Weaseley, what are you looking for?"  
  
"How do you know our names?" Harry asked warily. Ginny and Draco also stared at her, suspicious.  
  
"Simple. My grandmother told me to expect you. She said that it's Harry's birthday and I needed to make sure you had fun. But, I only count three of you. Where are the others?"  
  
"Um, Ron and Hermione are shopping elsewhere and-" The woman cut him off impatiently.  
  
"No, not those two. I'm talking about Severus, William, and Cecilia." Draco cocked an eyebrow, impressed.  
  
"They stayed in Diagon Alley, why? And you have us at a disadvantage. Who are you?" He asked, trying to be as polite as possible. Chuckling, the strange woman led them to a secluded area away from the crowds. Harry and Draco followed her, with Ginny slightly lagging behind.  
  
"No matter, but I had hoped to meet all of you. We will be working together in the battle and it would be nice to meet everyone who will be commanding the troops." In unison, three jaws dropped open, then snapped shut. The three of them stared at each other.  
  
"Commanding troops?" Harry carefully, neutrally asked. *ME??? YOU??? What is going on????*  
  
"Forgive me, I have been rude. My name is Claudette, and I am Alanna's granddaughter. She has told me all about you, and how competent you are. It is a relief that some good has come out of the human race. Now, where did you wish to go?"  
  
*She isn't human?* Ginny thought anxiously to her two 'brothers', as she affectionately thought of them.  
  
*She's the granddaughter of a demigoddess. She could be anything.* Draco thought back to her.  
  
"We were hoping to go to the Dungeon, but we can't find it." Claudette laughed.  
  
"Well that is a surprise. I am the proud owner of said establishment. Come on, it's this way." She led them to a door that said 'Basement Access". Opening the door, she waved them inside, and they walked carefully down the stairs.  
  
"The management doesn't like my store, but since I pay a very nice amount of rent and give them access to other than Muggle clientele, they don't want to kick me out. So, they let my have the entire basement, and if anyone asks how to get into my store, the security guards lead them down here. All in all, it's a sweet setup. No annoying posers or teenyboppers get offended by the real Gothic deal, and I get a fair amount of customers." As they headed into The Dungeon, smoke and mist drifted up the stairs, and a thudding bass beat could be felt, shaking the walls.  
  
Claudette pushed open a door, and they stepped in after her, plunging into shadows. Loud heavy metal music- *Rob Zombie's Dragula* Harry thought roared through the speakers. Widely spaced candles illuminated the football field sized room barely past twilight. On the right side of the store, mannequins modeled leather, vinyl, and lots of silver chains. Past them were racks upon racks of all sorts of women's, men's, and androgynous clothing, shoes and accessories. Along the back wall, there were six aisles of CDs and four aisles of DVDs. On the left, the entire wall had swords, daggers, and other items of lethal nature, and in the center was an entire makeup and piercing counter.  
  
"Harry, I have found it. We are in heaven!" Draco dashed over to the racks of clothing, a maniacal grin of glee on his face. Harry and Ginny followed, sharing in his exuberance. They spent the next two hours trying on clothing, with Claudette helping them pick out enough clothing to fill Harry's entire room at the Dursleys'.  
  
Harry had accumulated enough clothing to pile almost eye level on three chairs pushed together. Finally satisfied, he strolled over to try on several pairs of boots and look for a decent belt. Draco had a chest high pile on a chair next to Harry's, and Ginny had the same.  
  
"Claudette, I don't mean to be rude, but who and what are you, exactly? You aren't human, and I was wondering why your magic feels so funny." Ginny asked her quietly, while modeling a pair of leather hip huggers and a blood red tube top. Claudette raised her eyebrows questioningly.  
  
"How can you sense my magic? I thought that trait had been bred out of humans. To answer your questions, I am half Drow Elf and half Born Vampire. I also have the full powers of a demigoddess, but I refused that path many years ago. My mate is a mortal, and we would have been separated for all eternity. I didn't want that. I use several concealing charms to hide my fangs and ears." With a sigh of relief, she let the charms fade, her ears lengthening and tapering to a point. Ginny nodded slowly, absorbing the information. Draco came up behind her and hugged her from behind, putting his chin on the top of the petite redhead's hair.  
  
"So, you're a bloodthirsty elf. Sounds cool." Ginny cheekily replied with a grin. Claudette laughed, appreciating the humor. "I am a mind and fire elemental, and some rather traumatic events in my second year opened me to doing wandless magic." Claudette raised her eyebrows, impressed. "I also realized, around that time, that I could sense other people's magic and manipulate it to do what I wanted." Draco gasped, staring down at her in shock.  
  
"You can do what?" he asked, incredulous. He called over to Harry, "Hey, Potter!" he quickly asked Claudette "Is anyone else here?" She shook her head, eyes dancing merrily. Harry sauntered over, wearing an ankle length leather trench coat and had changed his shirt for a crimson mesh shirt.  
  
"What?" he asked, admiring the coat. Ginny's eyes widened.  
  
"Ooh, I want one of those!" she squealed.  
  
"First, Potter, do something magic, and Ginny screw with it." Harry nodded, intrigued. He carefully transfigured a nearby mannequin into a large black panther. It prowled around the room, then curled up by Harry's feet. Ginny concentrated, and the panther reared up on its hindquarters and danced the Macarena, while singing 'I'm a Little Teapot'. Harry stared at her.  
  
"How did you do that?" he asked, amazed. "It felt as if I had completely lost control of my spell. She actually used my magic to do it." He hugged Ginny. "That was really cool, lil sister." He snapped his fingers and the cat disappeared.  
  
"Hey, Claudette, how much are piercings?" Harry asked, turning to the vampire Drow. She grinned cagily.  
  
"You aren't old enough to get them. You have to be eighteen or have a legal guardian present. Sorry, you three." Draco laughed.  
  
"That isn't a problem." *HEY, UNCLE SEV!* he shouted, grinning hysterically. Harry started laughing.  
  
*Yes?* came the bored reply.  
  
*Wanna do something fun? Apparate over here, and bring Bill and Ceily too! This place is great!* Severus, Bill, and Cecilia appeared in the middle of the store. They gasped as they looked around. Draco, Harry, and Ginny ran over to them.  
  
"PLEASE, please! You're our guardians, so let us get some piercings! We'll pay for them!" they begged in earnest. Severus rolled his eyes, sighing.  
  
"The things I do for you two," he shrugged his shoulders. "Just don't come running to me if they get infected, and no really painful ones." Draco and Harry gagged at the image.  
  
"Who'd want to pierce that?" they asked, completely grossed out and in pain at the thought of piercing themselves /ahem/ down THERE.  
  
"As legal guardian for both of them, I give my consent." he told Claudette, shaking his head. She laughed.  
  
"Hello, Severus, Grandmother has told me so much about you all. I'm Claudette, by the way, a Vampire Drow." Severus shook her hand, bowing slightly.  
  
"Charmed. Who is your grandmother?"  
  
"Alanna. Guess how old I am."  
  
"That could get me slapped, but I'll guess twenty four."  
  
"Wrong. I am seven hundred and eighty five." Everyone's jaws dropped. She laughed at their expressions.  
  
"Um, ok. Ginny, what do you want pierced?" Bill asked hoping it wasn't her nipple or anything like that.  
  
"Belly button, nose and four in each of my ears. No, Draco wants the nipple stud."  
  
Sev turned to his now embarrassed godson. "Oh really?"  
  
"Yes, and Harry wants a tongue bar." Harry grinned.  
  
"I also want three in my left ear and two in the right. Two cartilage in both ears and one in the lobe." Claudette nodded, pulling out a clipboard. She quickly filled out three forms, and handed two to Severus and one to Bill.  
  
"Sign on the dotted line, please." They signed, and she sat Harry down first. "Birthday boy gets the honors. What do you want done first?" Harry thought a minute.  
  
"Ears first, please."  
  
"Do you have a gauge you want?" Claudette pulled out a gun and several packaged needles of varying sizes.  
  
"Um twelve for the lobe and eighteen for the cartilage." She nodded and prepared the gun. Less than a minute later, Harry was admiring the five new holes in his head, and she was preparing the gun to pierce his tongue.  
  
"Fourteen gauge all right?" she asked him. Draco looked slightly nauseous from the piercings.  
  
"Claudette, do you make tattoos?" Severus asked. She absently nodded and summoned a binder.  
  
"All the designs I have made are in here, so either pick one or design your own on the paper over there." She pointed to the end of the counter where a ream of paper sat.  
  
*Harry, are you SURE you want this?* Draco asked him. Harry nodded.  
  
*Draco, if you are going to be sick, please don't watch. I don't mind, honestly.* Draco nodded and turned away. He walked over to the CDs and, picking a CD at random, put the headphones on. Hoobastank's The Reason played at mid volume. His eyes widened as he listened to the lyrics.  
  
I'm not a perfect person As many things I wish I didn't do But I continue learning I never meant to do those things to you And so I have to say before I go That I just want you to know  
  
I've found a reason for me To change who I used to be A reason to start over new and the reason is you (The Reason, Hoobastank)  
  
*Wow- oh my - wow.* He hastily found the CD and grabbed a copy. He jerked, feeling the white hot pain in his mouth and felt dizzy. *Damn it, Potter, I can still feel the damn piercings.* He grimaced and swallowed, cursing. *And I wanted to be a healer* the blond groused quietly. *I didn't know that the sight of blood or feeling pain really affected me this badly.*  
  
He listened to several more CDs before choosing Simple Plan, all of Bon Jovi's four CDs, the newest Nickelback CD, and Matchbox 20's Mad Season. He levitated his eight CDs and walked them over to his chair full of clothing. He set the CDS on top and wandered back to the piercing counter just in time to see Ginny grimace in pain as Claudette pierced her bellybutton.  
  
*Oh great, room stop spinning.* he ordered weakly. After a few nauseating seconds, the room righted itself. Ginny hopped down from the chair and it was Draco's turn. Gulping, he sat down and removed his shirt.  
  
A group of teenagers and young adults walked into the store and started shopping. Harry and Ginny watched them from the corner of their eyes. *Are they- oh ok* they thought to each other as all but one removed concealing charms. Six of the group were Vampires, three were Drow, four Veela, and one still looked normal. They watched the large group and the large group finally noticed that there were other people in the store.  
  
"Hey, is that Harry Potter?" a Vampire asked a Drow. The Drow nodded excitedly, staring discretely at Harry's scar. Harry and Ginny rolled their eyes and continued to comfort Draco, who was hyperventilating over the nipple stud.  
  
"I swear, Harry, the ears weren't too bad but this one feels weird!" Draco complained. Harry chuckled.  
  
"Quit being such a baby, Malfoy. I swear, if I didn't know that you were a Slytherin, I'd call you a Hufflepuff." Draco swatted him, pouting. "Hey!" Severus and Bill walked over to them, the binder marked at several pages. They handed the binder back to Claudette, and Severus stood in front of the chair, anxious to get his tattoo.  
  
Draco hopped down, and he and Harry walked back over to the CDs. Ginny continued looking for a leather trench coat in her size. Harry, already knowing what CDs he wanted, closed his eyes and stretched out his hands. Slowly, a copy of every Metallica CD produced floated in midair and then flew towards him. He did the same with Marylin Manson, Shinedown, Godsmack, Disturbed, Papa Roach, Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins, Iron Maiden and Korn. Copies of Linkin Park's Meteora and Hybrid Theory, Rob Zombie's Hellbilly Deluxe, Trapt's Trapt, Saliva's Every Six Seconds, and Incubus's Megalomaniac joined the already massive pile floating in midair. He and Draco carefully walked the CDs over to Harry's pile and set them down on top, careful not to topple any over.  
  
Ginny finally found a trench coat, but knew it was too expensive. *DAMN IT!* she yelled mentally, *I really wanted this one, but I want CDs too, and DAMN IT!* She put down the trench coat and walked over to the CDs. The trench coat disappeared from behind her and reappeared, unknown to her, on Harry's pile.  
  
Draco looked at it strangely and nodded. *When's Ginny's birthday?* he asked quietly, hoping she wouldn't hear them.  
  
*In two days. August 2nd.* Harry grinned. *I'm getting this for her.*  
  
*What should I get her?* Draco asked, scratching his head in bewilderment. Harry motioned for him to follow then led his soul mate over to the jewelry section. He picked up silver and onyx tiered choker with a large ruby in the center. *I think she would love it.* Draco thoughtfully picked it up, and noticed dangle earrings and a bellybutton ring in the same colors and basic design, and picked that up as well.  
  
*Ok, I'm set gift wise, now I want some too.* They spent the next ten minutes picking out various studs and hoops for their new piercings.  
  
Ginny wandered over by the Early rock section, looking for *THEY HAVE IT! MERIDETH BROOKS!* She happily grabbed the CD and grabbed Melissa Etheridge's first CD as well. She found The Darkness, and lastly grabbed a Pat Benetar CD. As she turned around to look for more, a hand clamped down on her shoulder. She squealed in fright and jumped, crashing into whoever was behind her. She turned around slowly and stared into a pair of chocolate eyes.  
  
"Hello, beautiful. My name is Evan, are you an angel?" the man asked with a flirtatious smile. Ginny looked him up and down, mentally swooning. He was GORGOUS! He had a light tan, chocolate eyes, and white blond hair. He towered over her by almost a foot, and was incredibly well built. Ginny sighed and shook her head.  
  
"I'm sorry, Evan is it? How old are you?" She picked up her CDs and started to walk towards her 'brothers'. *Draco, Harry, I think I might need some help over here.* Slowly, Harry and Draco made their way over, chatting aimlessly.  
  
Evan rested his arms on either side of her, effectively blocking her in against the CD cases. "I'm 22, love. So, what is your name, or should I just keep calling you Angel?" He playfully twirled a strand of her scarlet hair around his fingers.  
  
Ginny pushed his hand away from his face. "My name is Virginia, I'm 15, and taken. I really am not interested." *HARRY, DRACO HELP!* She tried to push past his arm, but he grabbed her shoulder and spun her around.  
  
"Virginia, angel, do not piss me off. I won't tell if you don't." He pushed her against the case and lowered his face to hers. His eyes flashed a golden yellow and he grinned widely. Ginny watched, in detached fascination, as his teeth elongated into massive fangs. He gently brushed her nose with his own, and kissed her.  
  
"Get off my sister" came two growls from right behind him. Harry and Draco stood there, snarling at him. Evan smirked and his fingernails elongated into black claws and he backed away from the case, pulling Ginny sharply to him.  
  
"What are you going to do if I don't?" he asked, smirking. Harry grinned evilly and Evan stared at him, a tiny bit of doubt edging into his expression. He fractionally relaxed his grip, and Ginny slammed her fist into his gut. "OOF" he wheezed, letting go of her completely. She slid away from him and Harry pulled her to their sides. He and Draco flared their powers, grinning widely. Evan whimpered as they lifted him into the air and threw him across the room. He slammed into the wall almost fifty feet away and slid to the floor, stunned.  
  
Harry hugged Ginny. "Are you all right?" She nodded and wrapped her arms around both of them.  
  
"Thank you. I thought I had it under control, but he changed and I don't know what he was!" Harry stroked her hair.  
  
Claudette spoke up from behind them. "He's a born werewolf. They have greater control over their transformations, and can partially transform at any point in time. However, they also must transform at the full moon just like your friend Remus." She hugged Ginny. "Did he hurt you?"  
  
"No, just scared me." Ginny shook her head and grinned at them. "I'm fine. Come on, it's been almost three hours. We should definitely get going." The three of them gathered their merchandise.  
  
Harry went first, and levitated his pile to the checkout. Claudette totaled him up quickly, raising an eyebrow at the total. "All right, that is one trench coat, forty CDs, a spiked belt, six regular shirts, two tunics, and three mesh shirts, leather pants, one black pair and one indigo pair of jeans, six packs of FuckMe bracelets, three spiked bracelets, a spiked watch, two talon hoops, three silver regular hoops, assorted studs, and-" Harry shushed her, inclining his head at Ginny. Claudette got the hint and just totaled him. "That is L1375, even. How will you be paying for this?" Her eyebrows disappeared into her hair line as Harry calmly handed her three L500 notes. "Your change is L125. Have a nice day and come back soon."  
  
Harry quickly shrank most of his clothing bags and disappeared into the changing room. Claudette quickly rang up Draco's purchases, and he handed her a L500 note to cover it, receiving some change. Ginny handed over L400 for her purchases and also received change. They rushed over to the changing rooms and put on some of their new clothes.  
  
Harry and Draco walked out together, trench coats snapping around them. Harry was wearing a deep emerald mesh shirt and leather pants underneath with his boots, an arm full of FuckMe bracelets and spikes around the base of both wrists and his neck. Draco wore a dark silver mesh shirt and leather pants, boots, a spiked collar, and two spiked bracelets. Ginny walked out just after them in a blood red tube top, skintight leather pants, spiked bracelets and a collar, and her knee high black boots. They strode together over to their guardians, who stared at them with approving grins.  
  
Severus removed his robes, still wearing the Harry Potter original tunic underneath. Claudette walked over, admiring the shirt. "Where did you get this?" she asked, fingering the material lightly.  
  
"My nephew, Harry, conjured it. Isn't it incredible?" Claudette stared at Harry in shock.  
  
"You made that? How?" she asked impressed with the craftsmanship.  
  
Harry shrugged. "I just pictured what I wanted and made it. It was nothing, really."  
  
"Harry, if you every want a job in clothing design, talk to me first, all right? I could make a fortune selling stuff like this." Harry blushed.  
  
Claudette strode over to them. "Now, the clothing is excellent, you three, but you need some finishing touches." She removed Harry's glasses and studied his face critically. "I have a wizard friend that works at Towne Vision upstairs. Tell him that Claudette sent you and he'll hook you up with some wizarding contacts. The glasses have to go." She ran her hands through Harry's hair, muttering a spell. His hair instantly spiked. She waved a hand absently, and the top quarter of an inch turned a bright emerald. Another wave of her hand, and the tips turned silver. She let go of him and looked him over, satisfied.  
  
"You're done. Next, Draco, get over here." She studied him critically, and waved a hand over his face. Black eyeliner traced his upper lids and he blinked, startled. She added two thick, brilliant blue streaks the front section of his parted hair, framing his face in blue. She added tiny, lighter blue and silver streaks to the rest of his hair then looked him over with a critical eye. "Ok, you are done. Ginny, come here, now!"  
  
Ginny walked over, smirking. Claudette did a full face of makeup on her, from black eyeliner and steel colored eye shadow to full crimson lips. She added also deep crimson and black streaks and undertones to Ginny's hair, making it lusciously darker. "Ok there isn't any more to do to you. You three look so good!" They stared at each other. Harry was loathing putting on his glasses, but he kind of needed to see where he was going.  
  
Severus and Bill paid for their tattoos in Galleons and shrank their robes, putting them in Draco's bag for safekeeping. Ceily brought over several swords and dagger sets and paid for those. They left the store after promising to come back often, if only just to chat.  
  
They quickly found Towne Vision and, after dropping Claudette's name, Harry was taken care on immediately. It also helped matter that her friend immediately recognized him as being 'The Boy Who Lived'. Harry sighed, sliding in his new contacts. They were expensive, but he would never need to buy another pair again. They were self correcting, and never needed to be taken out, either. He threw his glasses into the nearest trash bin.  
  
They quickly walked into Circuit City and bought three CD players. Harry also bought a speaker system that he promised to share.  
  
"I'm going to borrow your CDs too, you know." Ginny told Harry and Draco as they walked out of the store. They both laughed.  
  
"Sure, Ginny, that's fine. Just don't scratch them or let anyone else scratch them. That would suck." Harry cautioned. He smirked then probed for Ron and Hermione.  
  
"Ron and Hermione are in the food court just around the corner" Harry announced quietly after mentally locating them. The six of them strode around the next corner and spotted the two Gryffindors immediately. They were sharing a chocolate sundae and were feeding it to each other. Harry, Draco, and Ginny mentally gagged.  
  
*Oh my God. Can they be any more sickeningly sweet? He can feed his girlfriend a sundae, but Dean can't help me with my homework using the rewards system- It's so unfair.* Draco and Harry looked at each other, sniggering.  
  
*Rewards system? Does it work well?* Harry asked mischievously. Ginny scowled.  
  
*I wouldn't know. Ron jumped Dean before we could study.* Draco laughed.  
  
Ron and Hermione looked up at the sound of his laughter. Their jaws hit the floor in shock. "Harold Potter! Virginia Weaseley! What the HELL did you do to yourselves???" Hermione screeched. Ron stared at them speechless.  
  
"I wash my hands of you, Potter! This is too much and I can't handle it!" She turned to Severus, gasping slightly at his Gothic clothing, spikes and sneer. "Can we go now, sir? I want to go back to Hogwarts." Severus nodded tersely and they stood up, clumsily gathering their bags.  
  
Severus led them all to an empty store and they stood inside in a circle. Relying on Harry and Draco for the needed power, Severus apparated all of them to the Leaky Cauldron. Bill and Ceily followed them.  
  
Draco, upon arriving, grabbed Harry's hand and dragged him to the door. "Uncle Sev, could you do that thing that I asked you to do earlier today?" Severus smirked at him.  
  
"It's already been done. Where are you going?"  
  
"Harry is the richest wizard, if not person in the world. He needs to be able to dress the part. I'm going to open him an account at Armani. Come with us?" Draco tugged Harry out the door and into Knockturn Alley, Severus following them.  
  
After about a block of seediness, Knockturn Alley morphed into an upper crust shopping district. Draco pulled an amazed Harry into a bright, low key shop to their left. A man came out of a back room and stared at them.  
  
"Gentlemen, I assume you are lost?" he asked in a heavy French accent. Draco scowled at him, irritated.  
  
"Jacques, it's me, Draco Malfoy." The man's eyes widened almost comically and he bowed.  
  
"My deepest apologies, Master Draco. Have you come for a fitting? Your measurements have changed." He led them to the back of the store and gestured for both of them to stand on stools. They complied.  
  
"My associate is Harry Potter, the Heir of Merlin's Fortune. I would like to assist him in opening an account with you." Draco, bored, examined his fingernails. Jacques's eyes widened again and he bowed in gratitude.  
  
"Do not worry, Master Draco, Master Harry, I will take care of the account for you." He waved a hand and two tape measures spun around the teens as Severus watched, faintly amused.  
  
"Master Severus, do you wish to order any-" A loud crash interrupted him and he jerked his head to the door, scowling. A cloaked figure stood in the doorway, leaning slightly.  
  
"What do you- Oh MY, come in, quickly." Jacques ushered the figure in and helped to remove the cloak. An exhausted Blaise Zambini stepped out, followed by a miniature female version of Blaise. They sagged, and Severus and Harry caught them as they collapsed.  
  
"Draco, you have to help us" Blaise groaned. "Voldemort is here. He has our parents and wants us as leverage to make them cooperate. You have to help."  
  
A/N: Well, there it was. 21 pages. Damn, and it would have been posted sooner but I somehow deleted half the chapter and had to retype. Oh well, what can ya do. Anyway, chapter 11 will be up in about a week, if not sooner. I am both typing and betaing my own story for right now, as my lil sis has too much homework to beta. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, and to the several people who have told me to write my own stories, thank you and I am currently doing that. See y all next chapter! Luv much, Laura 


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: I tried to make shopping as interesting a possible for all you non shoppaholics out there... did I succeed?  
  
Chapter 11  
  
Voldemort gathered his Inner Circle inside the dungeon of Riddle Manor. "Lucius, where are the brats?"  
  
"My Lord, they have escaped to Diagon Alley. What do you wish us to do?" Lucius Malfoy asked, bowing low before Voldemort.  
  
"You, my second, will gather forty of my best Death Eaters and fifteen Dementors. We attack Diagon Alley in ten minutes. Find the brats, and take them alive. Destroy everything else. You know what to do."  
  
"Yes, My Lord." Lucius knelt, and then started issuing orders as he stood. "Nott, Crabbe, Goyle! Come with me!" He swept from the room, three other robed figures trailing after him. Voldemort could hear him bellowing commands to the rest of the gathered Death Eaters.  
  
"He had better not screw up this time. I refuse to break him out of Azkaban once more," the Dark Lord sneered. He turned and spoke out loud to a seemingly empty room. "Master, I would appreciate it if I could borrow a few upper class demons to augment my Death Eaters."  
  
A sibilant hiss reverberated from the walls. "I WILL SEND TEN THROUGH THE PORTAL, MY STUDENT. TAKE CARE OF MY CHILDREN." Voldemort bowed in relief and gratitude.  
  
  
  
Harry staggered, caught up in the vision of the Dark Lord's plans. *Oh I haven't missed this at all* he thought grimly as Draco steadied his arm. *How the hell did I ever deal with this on a day to day basis?*  
  
*Let's see, you spent most of your time screaming in the Hospital Wing or being thought of as crazy by your dorm mates and three fourths of the school* Sev's sarcastic voice cut into his thoughts.  
  
*Thanks a lot, Uncle Sev. I really needed that inspiring comment,* Harry thought, exasperated. *You aren't helping.*  
  
*Sorry.* Severus grabbed Harry's other arm as Ginny burst through the door, skidding into the room. She looked around, and then rushed over to where everyone had congregated in the back.  
  
"I felt that. Harry, are you all right? When are they attacking?" Jacques gasped, staring at her.  
  
"Who are you and who is attacking?" he demanded, shaking in terror. Ginny put her arm around his trembling shoulders.  
  
"Ginny Weaseley and about forty Death Eaters are coming to Diagon Alley. You better close up and leave," she said grimly. Jacques's eyes widened and he nodded hastily. He waved his wand and the shades in the window closed. He locked the front door and apparated to safety, leaving the students and Severus alone in the shop.  
  
"Blaise, Marianna, we have to leave. We have to get back to the Leaky Cauldron as fast as possible and get to Hogwarts where it is safe." Draco ordered Blaise and Blaise's Mini Me. Harry guessed, correctly that the girl, Marianna, was Blaise's younger sister.  
  
*Remus, Ceily, Ron, Hermione, Petunia, Dudley, Death Eaters and worse are coming to Diagon Alley. Stay low and out of sight. We are coming to get you* Harry called to them, desperately feeling for their minds.  
  
"How? They're coming for us en masse. How can we get all the way across Knockturn Alley and halfway across Diagon Alley without being attacked?" Blaise asked, brow creasing in concentration. Marianna whimpered and clung to her older brother.  
  
*Harry? WHAT? HOW CAN YOU- LYING BACKSTABBING FREAK- WHEN ARE THEY COMING?* Half a dozen voices responded to him, alternating between worried, fearful, and extremely pissed off.  
  
*You need to stay low, and don't draw attention to yourself. We are coming for you. Please stay safe.* Harry sent them the message, overriding their panic with calm. *Just stay where you are and hide. We will find you.* He could feel them consent and left them alone.  
  
"Blaise, don't let them hurt me, PLEASE," Marianna whispered to her brother. Draco knelt down next to her, Harry and Ginny right beside him.  
  
"Mari, honey, we promise that nothing is going to happen to you. Harry, Uncle Sev and I can protect you from anything, even the killing curse," *I hope* he thought anxiously. *Harry, do you remember how to block it?* he asked his soul mate.  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. *Draco, I was a year and a half. All I remember is my dad screaming for my mum to run, her screaming for Voldemort not to kill me, and then a sickly green light that somehow bounced off of me.* Draco stared at him in wonder.  
  
*How do you remember all that?* he asked, genuinely impressed.  
  
*It's what I see when Dementors get too close. That's why they affect me so badly, not that you would care. You exploited that one so badly...* Harry trailed off, close to tears but stubbornly withholding them.  
  
Draco hung his head. *I'm so sorry* he thought, ashamed.  
  
Severus cut into their cloud of self pity. *As much as I like to see you two apologizing for treating each other like shit for the last six years, now is not the time to kiss and make up! DEATH EATERS ARE COMING HERE, NOW!* he bellowed, scaring Draco and Harry out of their pain and anger.  
  
"Right, we need to move. Ginny, how well can you manipulate magic?" Harry asked, assuming the role of the leader. Severus's eyes widened.  
  
"You and I really need to have a talk," he told her.  
  
"Uncle Sev, you were right in what you told Harry and Draco. Now is not the time. I promise, when we get back, I will explain everything," Ginny snapped, already forcing herself to concentrate deeply, ignoring Severus's widened eyes and insulted expression. Dimly, she could hear shouts outside and the feel of the killing curse being used. *Oh hell, it's starting* she broadcasted to everyone in the room. Harry nodded, determined, ignoring Blaise's and Marianna's frightened gasps.  
  
*Ginny, Draco, Uncle Sev and I are going to flare our shields then pass them to you. You MUST hold them around Blaise, Marianna, and yourself. We have to move now, before they trap us in here. There is a back door, and we are taking the back alleys to Diagon Alley. It will cut down on time and they will be less likely to see us. Ready?* he asked everyone. Blaise and Marianna nodded hesitantly, just accepting everything they heard.  
  
Harry and Draco drew on their bond, touching each others' temples. They locked eyes and the room was filled with an incredibly bright white light as they completely melded their minds together. They turned as one, both reaching hands out to Severus. He reached his hands out and firmly slid his hands over their temples. They in turn slid their fingertips over his.  
  
They felt drawn together completely, sharing memories, thoughts, feelings, until there was no I, no you, just WE. *Is this heaven or is it hell?* Severus wondered before his individuality was added to the already vast consciousness surrounding him. They locked themselves like that then removed their hands. They turned to the others, and the three mortals gasped in fright. Harry's, Draco's and Severus's eyes glowed an incandescent white that illuminated their faces, and a good part of the room.  
  
"WE MUST GO NOW" A voice boomed and echoed in the room, a faint whisper echoing the words in an eerie hiss. Their combined auras flared, swirling light blue, verdant green, and silver in a white smoky haze. The shields locked and solidified around the six people in the room. Ginny calmly strode in between the three demigods and extended her hands. A brilliant white light with a red and gold ribbon flowed around her, immersing her completely. She drew in their shield and made it her own, pulling Marianna and Blaise to her with her mind. They clasped her hands and the multicolored, shimmering force swallowed them as well before becoming transparent.  
  
Ginny nodded. "We are ready," she announced quietly. The conjoined demigods led the three mortals out the back door into the alley. In the main streets, they could see bodies lying everywhere and buildings burning.  
  
*AROUND BACK, WE CANNOT GO THAT WAY* the voice boomed again in their minds. The three demigods took up a triangular position around the mortals. *WE WILL PROTECT YOU. JUST KEEP WALKING. DO NOT LOOK BACK.* They hurried through the back alleyways of Knockturn Alley, finally reaching the seedier part that meant Diagon Alley was close.  
  
The back alleys ended abruptly. They calmly strode out into the main street, instantly drawing the attention of every Death Eater in the vicinity. One raised his arm high and pointed a wand at the Dark Mark, making it glow bright red. The Death Eaters abandoned the witches and wizards they were killing and flocked to their summoner. The six were immediately surrounded by Lucius Malfoy and his hand picked force.  
  
"Well, well, what have we here?" Lucius drawled, removing his mask and swaggering forward. Draco hissed at him in fury, Harry and Severus echoing his actions. They drew closer to the three mortals protectively. Blaise and Marianna stared, petrified as the Death Eaters leveled their wands at the six.  
  
Harry, Draco, and Severus grinned evilly, snarling at the forty Death Eaters circling around them. Lucius faltered, staring at the expressions on their faces.  
  
*They look really creepy* he thought, and then tightened his resolve. "Draco, I told you to pick the winning side. Now I won't even have to disown you. Goodbye." Lucius pointed his wand straight at his son and shouted "Avada Kedavra!" The sickly green light sped towards the demigod.  
  
Draco grinned even wider as the light was absorbed by his shields, just disappearing before it could even touch him. "WELL, FATHER, WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF? YOU ARE THE FAILURE. YOU CAN'T EVEN KILL A SIXTEEN YEAR OLD BOY," the voice boomed and echoed, making the Death Eaters' skin crawl.  
  
With three matching snarls of rage, the three demigods slammed their hands out at the Death Eaters. The ground suddenly bucked and rolled, toppling the Death Eaters like dominoes. A chasm opened in the street beneath some of them, and seven of them fell, screaming, into the abyss. The ground closed back up, sealing them in for all eternity. Lightning crashed into their midst, killing several more instantly. A whirlwind sped down the street, destroying everything in its path. It picked up four or five Death Eater and threw them into walls, roofs, and other Death Eaters.  
  
Ginny raised her hand from the center of the shields. A hungry flame shot to the whirlwind, turning it into an inferno straight from the mouth of Hell. The ranks of Death Eaters were decimated as they turned tail and ran, desperately trying to save their lives. *Run like the scared rats that you are,* thought Ginny, grimly triumphant. She felt several pops and decided to have some fun.  
  
*Let's see, where to send that one?* she thought mischievously as she manipulated the magical energy in the apparation field. *Antarctica sounds good this time of year.* She sent one to Antarctica, another to the Moon, and a third into the Marianas Trench. *I'd like to see them try to explain that one to Moldywart* she thought in satisfaction as all the remaining Death Eaters wound up in perilous places.  
  
They continued on, striding through the abandoned streets. Everywhere around them, they could see carnage and devastation. Bodies littered the streets like garbage, blood and gore everywhere. *THIS DOES NOT FEEL RIGHT* boomed the voice again. *WHY WOULD THE DEATH EATERS LEAVE BLOOD AND GORE IF THEY USED THE KILLING CURSE?* The three demigods warily stared at the MOVING shadows. They entered Diagon Alley, trying to spot trouble in every direction.  
  
Five Dementors glided out of the shadows, heading straight for them. Dimly, the vast consciousness that separately was Harry, Draco and Severus could feel them trying to incapacitate them. They waved their hands and immense Patronuses appeared, ready for battle. Harry's stag joined a fiery dragon and a basilisk in driving away and, in a burst of inspiration, completely obliterating the Dementors.  
  
The Patronuses turned, seeking other Dementors to destroy. The demigods kept them swirling around them as they moved cautiously towards the Leaky Cauldron. Ginny comforted Blaise and Marianna as best she could while keeping a tight hold on the shields. While they hadn't even felt the effects of being so close to the Dementors, their presence alone had been terrifying. *We better get there soon* she prayed fervently. *I don't know how much longer I'll last if we have any more fighting.* She cold feel her strength start to waver, and with a muffled curse, bolstered it. *NO. I refuse to give in.* Grimly, she kept walking, holding Blaise's and Marianna's hands in a death grip.  
  
Harry, in point position, turned to face Madame Malkin's Dress Robes shop. The door blew open, and a very frightened and angry Remus, Bill, and Ceily were levitated, against their will, into the waiting shield. Harry's incandescent eyes searched the surrounding buildings for survivors. Finding none, they continued walking.  
  
Harry stopped them again in front of Flourish and Blott's book store. He again blew the door open, and pulled a loudly swearing Ronald Weaseley from the shop.  
  
"Fuck you! BASTARDS! You won't take me alive. I'm going to get every last one of you!" Harry dropped him into the shield and Ron blinked owlishly at the faces surrounding him. Harry dropped Hermione in after him. They regained their feet, wisely refusing to say anything else.  
  
*LET'S GO. WE HAVE EVERYONE WE NEED. PETUNIA AND DUDLEY ARE ALREADY IN THE LEAKY CAULDRON.* They continued moving, aware that time was running out for them. Ginny's neck prickled, and she saw something dart up a wall. She turned her head, almost refusing to believe what she had seen.  
  
Finally, she admitted it to herself. *Congratulations, Ginny, you have seen your first demon today.* She addressed the demigods. *Demons are behind us and to our sides. What do you want to do?*  
  
*WE MUST GET YOU MORTALS OUT OF HERE AND CALL FOR BACKUP.* came the response. Ginny grimaced. They finally reached the Leaky Cauldron. Harry shattered the door and they strode inside. Draco waved his hand and the bar disappeared, revealing an incredibly pale Petunia, a terrified Tom, and a crying Dudley. Severus strode to the Floo.  
  
"HOGWARTS" boomed the voice again, and he shoved the entire mass of people under the shield through the fireplace. Ginny hopped out at the last minute, angrily brushing her hands on her leather pants. Tom apparated away to safety, certain that everyone was going to die.  
  
"Oh no" she announced grimly. "You still need me." She strode over to Draco's side.  
  
"YOU ARE RIGHT. WE NEED YOU AS OUR CENTER." *ALANNA, XANDER, COME NOW. DEMONS ARE IN DIAGON ALLEY.* Severus shoved Petunia and Dudley through the Floo, along with the assorted shopping bags that everyone had accumulated as Alanna and Xander apparated to their sides.  
  
"We're here and ready to link." Xander announced quietly. He and Alanna linked together, and then they extended hands out to the others. Harry, Severus, and Draco touched each other's temples to reaffirm the bond, then Harry brushed Alanna's temple. Draco brushed Xander's as well. They began to glow a blinding white, the power forming a sphere in the center that slowly built until it encompassed them all. Ginny ducked under their outstretched arms and stood defiantly in the center.  
  
"Go ahead. I'm ready." As one the five demigods nodded and dropped their hands from each other to lightly rest their hands on her temples. *OH WOW* she thought as her consciousness was stripped from her, joining with the others. She felt the entirety of their powers rest inside of her and hold fast. They turned and strode from the Leaky Cauldron, power whipping around them like wind, Ginny in the center.  
  
They entered Diagon Alley again, the ground rippling under their feet. The few people that had managed to survive the massacre took one look at them and apparated the hell away from what they were certain was going to be the worst battle of all time. The six continued to stride down the street, avidly searching for the elusive demons responsible for the carnage, as well as the stray Dementors.  
  
As they rounded the corner past Gringotts, two enormous, crimson, scaly monstrosities slinked into view. They were almost twelve feet tall, had ebony claws the size of hunting daggers, and teeth that could, and probably, from the wreckage of human remains, did sever human heads from their bodies quite easily. The demigods watched as they tensed their enormous muscles, preparing to spring.  
  
They could feel the rest of the demons closing in on them from all sides. They held tightly on their powers, then, with a thought of exasperation, let them loose. Hellfire ripped up and down the street, courtesy of Ginny's abilities, magnified times one million by the demigods' powers. The hellfire combined with a whirlwind of epic proportions, and Severus locked the demons' minds, forcing two of them to remain still as the fire whipped around them, hot enough to incinerate bones. The demons fought back with tooth, nail, and magic, trying to find a weakness. Ginny held the center fast, not giving an inch in their battle. One demon was able to slash Severus across the chest, laying him open to the bone. He disregarded the wound and continued to fight.  
  
Harry and Draco stood together, combining every elemental power they had to take out as many of the demons as possible. The two demons facing them whipped out with a magical force that threw the two demigods into a wall. They flared, and hovered in midair, gathering their exponentially magnified powers. Draco slammed one of the demons back, and Harry crushed him with a barraged of boulders and fire. They watched, battle thirsty, as the demon was completely flattened by the combined forces.  
  
*THREE DOWN, SEVEN TO GO. WHERE ARE THEOSE DEMENTORS?* they thought, concentrating on the battle. Dimly, the vast consciousness felt, through Harry, the telltale presence of Clautius's wraiths, The Dementors. Six patronuses burst from the group, shredding the wraiths where they glided. A Stag, Dragon, Basilisk, Winged Unicorn (Ginny), a Gryffin (Xander), and a Phoenix (Alanna) chased the fleeing Dementors and obliterated them.  
  
The seven remaining demons hissed, and twenty foot wings unfolded from slits in their backs. They took to the air, hoping to gain an advantage. As one, the demigods and Ginny rose, in attack formation, into the air to meet the spawns of Satan head on. Bolt after bolt of lightning flashed at Draco's call, catching one unlucky demon unawares. It fizzles and burst into flames, falling back down to earth. The rest turned, trying to out fly certain death. Only two escaped as Alanna created a tidal wave out of nothing, batting the demons down to the ground like a giant cat's paw playing with a mouse.  
  
Harry opened another chasm in the streets of Diagon Alley, and the demons slammed into the abyss. He sealed the ground after them, trapping them for all eternity. Xander, Draco and Ginny created a maelstrom of wind and flame that incinerated the remaining two. Slowly, afraid to believe that the battle was over, they slowly powered down and returned to the ground.  
  
Ginny was the first to be released from the bond. Turning, she staggered from the sheer amount of power still flowing through her. *That was... intense* she thought wearily, slumping her shoulders. The others released themselves, exhausted. None were more exhausted than Harry, Draco, and Severus, who had been bonded for longer than the others.  
  
Ginny turned and caught Severus as he fell, backwards, in a dead faint. She saw, out of the corner of her eyes, Alanna and Xander catch Harry and Draco as they also toppled over.  
  
"We have to get them back to Hogwarts." Ginny managed to say before sitting down heavily with the unconscious Potions Master lying cradled in her lap. Alanna and Xander stood up, Harry and Draco in their arms. They walked over to where Ginny was seated. The two conscious demigods nodded wearily and apparated them straight through the wards they created around Hogwarts directly into the Hospital Wing.  
  
Alanna and Xander lay their siblings on the hospital beds then turned to help Ginny lay Severus on a bed as well. Madame Pomfrey bustled in and let out a startled squawk as she took in the exhausted, bloody demigods. "What happened!!!" she demanded angrily. She watched, fascinated, as Severus's gaping chest wound glowed faintly and the edges began to knit together.  
  
Alanna looked over at her, slumping against the bed. "Demon attack in Diagon Alley. Go there, it's safe. They need you more than we do." She collapsed against the bed, Xander catching her in his arms before she toppled onto Harry. He lowered her to an empty bed and kissed her forehead. He stretched his hands out and, with one last conscious thought, giving them a time limit of two hours; he created a healing sleep around everyone, including himself.  
  
  
  
Harry and Draco awoke, slightly refreshed, two hours later exactly. Harry groaned and stretched, feeling the familiar pull of Draco's mind in his own and the weight of Draco's hand in his. He opened his eyes, blinking around the strangeness of the contacts. He turned his head, sighing, and stared at Dumbledore, who was watching him with a deranged twinkle in his eye.  
  
"What do YOU want?" Draco asked harshly from the other side of Harry. Dumbledore jumped, shocked.  
  
"Good afternoon to you, too, Mr. Malfoy. I trust you are feeling better." Dumbledore tried to smooth the Slytherin's ruffled feathers.  
  
Draco scowled and propped himself up on an elbow. "Don't call me that," he hissed, snarling at the Headmaster.  
  
Dumbledore blinked. "Whyever not? That is your name, is it not?"  
  
"That FUCKING BASTARD is NOT MY FATHER!!! THAT SANCTIMONIOUS ASSWIPE AVADA KEDAVRA'D ME! FUCK HIM! HE SHOULD ROT IN HELL!!!!!" Draco screamed, enraged beyond reason. He could feel Harry in his mind, agreeing with him wholeheartedly.  
  
"DRACONIS ANGELUS MALFOY! You are, one, not to swear like that in public, and two, DO NOT SPEAK ABOUT YOUR FATHER THAT WAY!" A feminine bellow made both Draco and Harry jump and whip around. Narcissa sat in the chair next to Draco's bed, Ceily and Bill at her side. Ginny lay next to Bill's chair and she was gradually stirring.  
  
"Aunt Narcissa! Your HUSBAND tried to KILL your SON! DRACO has EVERY RIGHT to swear like that!" Ceily's eyes shot daggers at her aunt. Narcissa glared at her icily and sat back in her chair in a huff.  
  
"Draco was the one who betrayed our family. He refused the Mark. Lucius has been grooming him for that role since he was born, and he threw it in his face! Lucius had every right to be angry!" Narcissa defended her husband's actions.  
  
Ceily and Draco gaped at her. "Mother!"  
  
"Aunt Narcissa!"  
  
They continued in unison. "Torture and the killing curse are not reasonable actions when you are angry!"  
  
Narcissa stared at her son in exasperation. "Well, you have no lasting damage and you are still alive, so it couldn't have been that bad, could it? Draco you exaggerate too much."  
  
Harry gaped at her. "Ma'am, the only reason he survived is because he is a demigod and because I am one too. I healed his injuries. Without that, he would have DIED. Lucius wants your son DEAD. Please understand that. I was there both times, as was Severus." Harry leaned back against the bed, still exhausted. He turned to Bill. "What time is it?"  
  
"4:30, bro," Bill replied, stretching. "Ginny told me, over the last hour, exactly what has been happening between the three of you. Welcome, you both, to the family." He extended his hand first to Harry, then to Draco. They took his hand gratefully, grinning. Narcissa sniffed.  
  
"Really, Draco," she drawled. "Why would you be associated with the Weaseleys, of all people?"  
  
A muscle in Draco's clenched jaw jumped and twitched. "Because, MOTHER, I happen to enjoy the company of Miss Weaseley very much. Since you have failed to provide me with siblings, I am attempting to make up for your negligence." Narcissa gaped at him, quickly recovering her composure.  
  
"Draco, you will assist me in changing the wards. As much as I love your father, he is intolerable to live with for now." She stood up and swept regally from the room. Bill gaped at her back.  
  
"Didn't that man almost kill her?" he asked in wonder. Draco sighed and stretched.  
  
"She would deny anything was wrong if he had her in chains in the dungeons, the way he had me. That's just her way." Draco released Harry's hand and scooted to the end of the bed. Harry, having the same idea, prepared to stand up. They stood, swaying slightly. Remus, who had been napping at the end of the bed, sprang forward and caught them both under the arms.  
  
"Harry, Draco, Madame Pomfrey, Molly and Petunia are assisting with the relief efforts in Diagon Alley. They asked if you, Alanna, Xander, and Severus would help when you woke up, since you both are proficient at healing," Dumbledore asked. Alanna and Xander stirred and groaned, drawing everyone's attention to them. Harry and Draco walked unsteadily over to their beds and sat down. Xander sat up and opened his eyes.  
  
"You couldn't have put us under for, say, the rest of the night?" Draco asked with a sheepish grin. Xander stretched and shook his head, yawning.  
  
"It would have been nice, but don't we have a party to attend?" Harry looked at him strangely, and Dumbledore choked behind him, making a slashing gesture at Xander. Xander's eyes widened. "Did I say something I wasn't supposed to?" he asked, grinning.  
  
Dumbledore slammed his forehead with the palm of his hand, and groaned. "Thanks for ruining the surprise, Xander." Harry turned to Dumbledore, grinning.  
  
"What makes you think that I even want a birthday party today?" he grinned, sitting cross-legged on the bed. Dumbledore stared at him, confused. Harry continued, stretching his back. "I had the best day today shopping with my friends, and then we took on the demons from Hell and won. I'm exhausted and want to go back to sleep. Plus, we should help with the relief efforts in Diagon Alley, although the people that were left were dead and pretty much can't be helped anymore."  
  
Dumbledore sighed. "Molly and Narcissa contacted several of Draco's friends as well as the entire DA to celebrate. Plus, Nymphadora Tonks and several other Order members will be here. We can't just cancel. That would be rude, and Molly and Narcissa have worked so hard to make the party perfect." Draco stared at Dumbledore.  
  
"My mother worked with MRS. WEASELEY to make a perfect party for a GRYFFINDOR???" he asked, incredulous. Dumbledore nodded happily.  
  
"Yes, it seems that she wants Harry to be happy."  
  
*More like wants to be in your good graces now that she knows how much money you have.* Draco snorted, angry at his mother's hypocrisy. Harry laughed and shook his head.  
  
"Come on," he said, stretching as he stood up. "We mustn't disappoint everyone. SHOTGUN SHOWER!" he yelled, racing out of the Hospital Wing. Draco took off after him, laughing.  
  
In the Hospital Wing, Ginny sat up and stretched. "Mmmm, Bill?" Her older brother turned to her.  
  
"Ginny? How are you feeling, love?" She grinned sleepily.  
  
"I'm fine, Bill. Could you help me up? I heard someone mention a shower and that sounds really, really nice right now." Bill helped his sister to her feet, and she tottered over to where Severus was still sleeping.  
  
"Oh, Uncle Sev, what are we going to do with you? Rest well, and wake up soon." She impishly gave him a kiss on the cheek. Bill's eyes widened, as did Dumbledore's. Severus smiled in his sleep, sighing. She smirked at them and skipped out of the Hospital Wing, following Harry and Draco.  
  
  
  
Harry and Draco ran down the stairs, into the Entrance Hall. Harry suddenly tripped over the shopping bags on the staircase, and flew down the rest of the stairs. "HOLY SHIT!!!!" he screamed, and suddenly stopped, an inch from the bottom of the staircase. He slowly lowered himself to the ground and turned around.  
  
Draco stood behind him, hand outreached. "Nice, Harry, you found our stuff!" he happily grabbed his bag and Harry's one big bag. He saw Ginny's and wondered aloud, "I wonder if she wants this stuff right away?"  
  
Ginny answered him from five feet behind him. "Actually, I summoned all my stuff. You mind if I come down into the Slytherin Dorms with you? I'm too traumatized by Hermione and Ron's public and very frequent displays of affection. I really don't want to go up to our dorms right now." Harry and Draco sniggered.  
  
"Sure, why not. Come on down." Draco handed Ginny her bag and they walked down into the dungeons together. They walked into Draco and Harry's room in the Slytherin Dorms. Blaise and Marianna were sitting on the unused bed, Blaise rocking Marianna in his arms.  
  
"Shush, love, they'll help Mum and Dad. Don't worry." Blaise raised his head, surprised when he saw the two Gryffindors in the Dorms. "Draco, what are they doing here?"  
  
Harry cocked an eyebrow. "For your information, I have been living down here ever since I got here, and Ginny is escaping the many tongue wars of Ron and Hermione." Ginny turned green at the thought, clashing with her hair.  
  
Blaise stared at Draco, incredulous. "I thought we hated Gryffindors, Dray. Why are you chumming with your worst enemy and the youngest daughter of your family's worst enemy?"  
  
Draco sighed and sat down. "A lot has happened this summer."  
  
Harry snickered, sitting next to Draco. "That's the understatement of the millennium."  
  
Draco absently hit his shoulder. "Stop interrupting, Potter, and let me speak." Harry pouted, and Ginny laughed at his antics. "Where was I, oh yes. I refused the Mark like we had all vowed, and my father let Voldemort torture me." Harry sat up.  
  
"What vow?" he asked, curious. Blaise sighed.  
  
"None of us except for Pansy and Nott really want to get involved with that madman. It's insane. We can see what is happening. Pureblood families are all becoming squibs. It sucks. Longbottom isn't the only one who has problems with magic. A lot of us are getting weaker and it isn't cool." Harry nodded, understanding. "We made a vow, most of the Slytherin House, to not take the Mark, no matter what. We have three of us that will, but will be spies for us. I cannot tell you who they are, but you get the picture." Harry nodded again. "We made this vow, a Blood Oath, last winter. It cannot be broken, not matter what he does to us. We would rather die than become pawns."  
  
Harry scowled. "My sentiments, exactly, except it is Dumbledore I am pissed at." Blaise stared at him, brow furrowed.  
  
"Why?" he asked, confused.  
  
Harry sighed. "Let Draco tell his story then I will tell mine." Blaise nodded and Draco continued.  
  
"Voldemort sent Harry the vision of my torture, and he, with Osiris, my pet cobra, managed to rescue me from the Manor. I am not too sure what happened next, all though I remember a long broom ride." Harry blushed, laughing.  
  
Blaise stared at him, mouth hanging open in shock. "You rode YOUR BROOM to the MANOR????" Harry nodded.  
  
"It was my only option. It's not like I can drive or apparate." Blaise laughed.  
  
"Potter, you are insane. But, thank you for getting him. You mind if I change?" Draco sighed and shook his head. The very male Blaise suddenly morphed into a very female Blaise. "Thank you," she said in a husky voice. "I was tired of being a boy." Harry's mouth dropped open.  
  
"Harry, Blaise is a gender Metamorphagus. Don't ask, it's a long story." Harry nodded dumbly.  
  
"Anyway, Potter here managed to heal all my injuries with his aura. Flare, Harry." Harry flared his aura briefly. Draco nodded at the stunned expression on Blaise's and Marianna's faces. "That's when we met Alanna and Xander, you haven't met them. They are the coolest. Anyway, we both woke up in Hogwart's infirmary, and made a truce. It turns out that neither of us really hated the other, just perpetuated it for the sake of fighting. So, we finally met Alanna and Xander and they told us that we were demigods. Cool huh?"  
  
Blaise stared back and forth between the two of them, shaking. "You really are?" she squeaked.  
  
"I am the Human Champion for the side of the Light," Harry said, bowing and snickering.  
  
"I am the Demigod Champion for the side of the Light, and the Human Champion's soul mate," Draco also bowed, laughing. Blaise choked, looking back and forth between the two.  
  
Ginny jumped on the bed between them. "And I'm their bratty, incredibly cool little sister." Blaise stared at them as if they were insane. "Honestly, Blaise, how else do you think they were able to do all that?"  
  
Marianna finally spoke up. "Can you help my Mum and Dad? Please? The Death Eaters are at our house, and they're hurting Mummy and Daddy." Harry and Draco stopped laughing and straightened up.  
  
"Let's go." Ginny, Draco, and Harry stood as one, Blaise and Marianna in tow, the shower forgotten. *Alanna, we have another problem.*  
  
*Go ahead, little brother. We're listening.*  
  
*Blaise's parents are still being held by Death Eaters. We need you to help, not in fighting, we can take care of that, but in setting up wards like are on Privet Drive.*  
  
Alanna and Xander appeared right next to them. "Let's go," they said, unconsciously echoing Draco's earlier statement.  
  
They apparated straight through the wards, patching them as they went through, right to Zambini Mansion. they appeared right in the middle of the living room, catching a Death Eater sleeping on the sofa off guard. Harry instantly killed him and he slumped to the ground, lifeless.  
  
*I can feel them in the basement,* Draco sent his soul mate. Harry nodded, and they powered their auras, prepared for anything. They cautiously crept downstairs, Ginny right behind them. Ginny sensed something not quite right and whirled. A Death Eater stood menacingly over Marianna. Alanna stood behind him, and, with a discrete snap of her fingers, the Death Eater slumped to the ground.  
  
Harry and Draco had continued down the stairs to the expansive basement. There, Mr. and Mrs. Zambini were tied to two chairs, gags in their mouths. Other than the restraints, they looked unharmed. Two Death Eaters stood over them, bored with their guard duties. The Zambinis locked eyes with the demigods, and Harry gestured for them to stay quiet. They snuck up behind the two guards. Harry and Draco let lose with a bolt of electricity, frying them instantly. They untied the Zambinis and, en masse, rushed back upstairs.  
  
"Mum! Dad!" Blaise and Marianna yelled, running to them. They hugged, and Mrs. Zambini turned to Harry and Draco.  
  
"How can we ever repay you two? Thank you so much." Draco and Harry grinned.  
  
"You are all invited to Hogwarts in an hour to celebrate my birthday and the defeat and subsequent demise of forty- wait, make those forty-four Death Eaters, fifteen Dementors, and ten demons from Hell," Harry deadpanned. The Zambinis blinked.  
  
"Ooookay," said Mr. Zambini. "You are going to have to run that by me again." Harry, Draco, and Ginny grinned.  
  
Alanna and Xander walked over to the Zambinis. "You are master of this house?" Xander asked. Mr. Zambini nodded. Alanna and Xander powered up. *Watch and learn, little brothers and newest sister.* Ginny beamed.  
  
Alanna and Xander quickly wove mental protection spells around the mansion and its grounds. Alanna touched each of the Zambini's faces, drawing their minds into the process. Harry watched, fascinated, as Xander wove the wards around their minds, allowing only them and persons accompanied by one of them onto the grounds. Thirty seconds later, the wards were complete, having taken less than a minute to weave.  
  
Harry, Alanna, Xander, Ginny, and Draco apparated back to Hogwarts, landing in the Great Hall, leaving the Zambinis to dispose of the bodies. They saw Narcissa sitting at the table, drinking tea.  
  
"Are you ready, Draconis?" she asked, arching an eyebrow. Draco, Harry, Alanna, Xander, and Ginny groaned.  
  
"That's right, we need to change the wards on Malfoy Manor." Draco sank onto the bench next to his mother. "All right, Mother, let's go." Narcissa nodded, and Harry, Ginny and Draco accompanied her to the Manor.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Narcissa asked Ginny, trying not to be rude for her son's sake.  
  
"I'm here to help them. I stabilize their powers. It's one of my talents." Ginny put her hands on their shoulders, steadying them. Harry and Draco slowly began to weave protection spell upon protection spell, layering them so thickly that no one would be able to penetrate them.  
  
Ginny added, on a whim, her own personal touch, promising anyone who tried to break the wards a very interesting skin reaction in very uncomfortable places. Draco added the finishing touch, which allowed only him and his mother, and any guests into any of the Malfoy estates.  
  
  
  
In Morocco, in the Malfoy Summer Home, a black shape suddenly flew out the front door and landed, a half mile away, in the ocean.  
  
Lucius Malfoy sputtered as he came to the surface. "WHAT THE FUCK???" he bellowed, then grasped his backside in pain. "Ohh, it hurts. Why the hell do I have boils on my ass?"  
  
  
  
The three teenagers flooed back to Hogwarts, stumbling into the Great Hall. Naricssa had stayed behind. Hermione and Ron rushed over to them from where they had been sitting at the Gryffindor table.  
  
"Harry! You saved our lives!" Hermione exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck. Harry staggered under the weight and exuberance. She started to cry- again from the looks of her face.  
  
"Um, it's all right, Hermione, what else did you expect me to do? Just stand by as everyone was slaughtered?" Harry gently peeled the sobbing girl from his shoulder. Ron came up behind him and clapped his shoulder.  
  
"Good show, mate," Ron gruffly spoke, holding his girlfriend. "You really kicked ass." He extended a hand to Harry. "I'm sorry I called you a freak. It was uncalled for, and I apologize."  
  
Harry took his hand. "I accept." They grinned sadly, knowing, that, while they didn't hate each other and would be friends, things would never be the same.  
  
Draco pulled him towards the Dungeons, Ginny in tow. "Harry, not to be rude or anything, but you need a shower."  
  
Harry laughed and allowed himself to be pulled. "Look who's talking. You don't smell the greatest, either." The three of them laughed and finally made it to their much appreciated showers.  
  
  
  
Forty-five minutes later, three refreshed teenagers bounded up the stairs from the Dungeons. Harry, in the lead, ran ahead, calling over his shoulder, "Hey, I got to go do something. I'll catch up with you two later."  
  
Ginny and Draco shouted back, "OK!", and ran up to the Hospital Wing.  
  
Harry went looking for Mrs. Weaseley and Lady Malfoy. He found them in the Room of requirement, putting the finishing touches on the party decorations. Molly squealed in shock when she saw Harry standing there, staring at the streamers.  
  
"HARRY! You shouldn't be in here! GO! SHOO!" Molly yelled, causing Narcissa to snort in a very unladylike manner.  
  
"Mrs. Weaseley, would it be all right if Ginny celebrated her birthday tonight as well?" Harry asked as Mrs. Weaseley shoved him out of the room.  
  
"But, Harry, it's your special day! It's YOUR birthday; Ginny's isn't for another two days!"  
  
"Narcissa raised her eyebrows. "You know, Molly, he does have a point. Why not have a double party? I'm sure that the DA would love to celebrate her birthday as well, and it is no problem. The party doesn't start for another hour as it is. We have plenty of time to make the changes and tell everyone." Narcissa immediately started firetalking to the invited guests, informing them of the request.  
  
Molly shoved Harry out of the Room of Requirement completely and sighed. She started to change the decorations, adding Ginny's name to the banners.  
  
  
  
Harry ran to the Hospital Wing after Draco and Ginny. He jogged into the Wing to see Severus open his eyes, Draco and Ginny sitting next to his bed.  
  
"Uncle Sev, you're a wake!" the three of them chorused. Severus blinked and shook his head. He looked around blearily, finally focusing on Ginny.  
  
"What- What – Why are you here?" he croaked, confused. Harry gave him a glass of water and he drank it gratefully. "Why are you here, and did I just hear you call me 'Uncle Sev'? he asked, shaking his head in disbelief.  
  
Ginny laughed musically. "Yes, you did, and I'm here because I carried you all the way from Diagon Alley to that bed. Now, how are you feeling?" she asked, smirking.  
  
Severus looked at his chest in confusion. "I was hurt, badly. How did I heal?"  
  
Harry laughed. "All demigods and demigoddesses can heal themselves. You've seen me do it. You can do it too." Severus nodded.  
  
Alanna sat on the edge of the bed. None of them had noticed her and Xander come in. "Ginny, we need to speak with you. It is of the utmost importance." Ginny looked at her and gulped, suddenly afraid.  
  
*Ginny, it can't be that bad. Don't worry, we're here.* Harry and Draco put their arms around her comfortingly.  
  
"How much do you want everyone else to hear?" Alanna asked.  
  
"They're my family. I want them here with me." Ginny jutted her chin, defiant. Alanna and Xander looked at each other and nodded.  
  
"Ginny, I don't know how to tell you this, but you aren't human. You're somehow a demon." Ginny's face turned white. Harry and Draco looked at her, shocked, then hugged her harder. Severus stared at her, and put a hand on her shoulder.  
  
*No matter what, we're family. We'll figure this out somehow.* Severus assured her, and she crumpled into his chest, sobbing.  
  
Alanna waited for her tears to subside, then continued. "You didn't start out that way, but you have demonic abilities, or the abilities Clautius bred into his children. You can do wandless magic extremely well without ever being trained, you are a natural conduit for power, which is why we could use you for our center, and you can manipulate the magic of others. We did not allow mortals to possess these powers, and you are not one of our true siblings. So, if you are not of our creation, then you must be one of his."  
  
Ginny stared at her. "So what are you going to do with me?" she asked, finally.  
  
"Train you, of course, and let you make your own decisions. We do the same with our brothers. Just because you have interesting abilities, doesn't mean that we will abandon you. What do you think we are? Evil?" Ginny laughed in relief and launched herself at Alanna and Xander.  
  
"So, littlest, newest sister, would you like to really join the family?" Xander asked, stroking her hair. She nodded and burrowed into his shoulder.  
  
"Who'd have thought that we'd have a demoness on our side?" Alanna asked, ruffling Ginny's hair. Harry and Draco laughed.  
  
"So, do you have any idea how this happened?" Harry asked, trying to figure out what could have happened to change Ginny so fundamentally.  
  
"Not a clue," Alanna replied.  
  
  
  
Harry walked back from the Dungeons, a large, gaily wrapped package under his arm. Draco walked beside him, carrying a large package and small package. They were joined by Ginny who was carrying a small box. Grinning at each other, they strode into the Room of Requirement, getting gasps from the assembled students and Order members.  
  
Dean rushed over to his girlfriend. "Ginny, I WOW! You look incredible" he stammered, loving the changes she had made to her appearance. He shyly handed her a medium sized package. "Happy Birthday, Ginny."  
  
"Thank you, Dean. Hey, next time I go shopping, you want to come with?" Dean hastily nodded, already dreaming about black leather.  
  
Neville walked over to Harry and Draco. "Happy Birthday, Harry! Wow! Where did you get such cool clothing?" Draco smirked and pointed at Claudette, who was standing in the corner, talking to her grandmother and a tall, extremely pale man with silky, blue-black hair.  
  
"That's Claudette. She owns this incredible store called The Dungeon. Maybe, on our next shopping trip, we'll invite you." Draco drawled, causing Neville to stare at him in shock.  
  
"You – you aren't going to insult me?" Neville asked Draco, confused.  
  
Draco smirked. "Do you really want me to?" Neville hastily shook his head no, then squeaked as Severus swept up behind Harry.  
  
"Potter, showing off again? How Gryffindor of you," Snape hissed, sneering.  
  
Harry turned, smirking. "Thanks, Professor Snape, I'll take that as a compliment." He laughed, and to the amazement of almost everyone else in the room, Severus laughed as well, pulling Harry into a hug. "We did good today, didn't we?" Harry asked quietly.  
  
Neville squealed again and passed out. "You're HUGGING that GREASY-" Harry whipped around, sneering at Seamus. Seamus squeaked and shut up instantly.  
  
"Can't I hug my favorite uncle?" Harry hissed, eyes glowing eerily. Ginny tore away from Dean to stand beside him, Draco next to her.  
  
"The next person who refers to Uncle Severus as a greasy git gets boils on their ass, understood?" Ginny hissed, drawing flames around her. Dean stared at her, in shock and awe. Draco created a small whirlwind that made his leather trench coat snap and crack.  
  
"Simmer down, you're scaring your guests and that, unfortunately, is a bad thing," Alanna drawled, striding to Harry. Claudette and the mystery man followed with identical smirks on their faces. Harry grinned, looking positively evil, then relaxed. Draco and Ginny relaxed also. Severus stared alternately at the three of them, shaking his head, smiling.  
  
"Right, now that was cool." Dean walked over to his girlfriend, amusement in his eyes. Ginny, how long have you been able to do that?"  
  
"Since second year. They just kind of woke up after all that stuff with the Chamber of Secrets happened." Harry stared at her, rapidly piecing the puzzle together.  
  
*Of course! It all makes sense now!* vowing to talk with Draco, Sev, Alanna and Xander later, he decided to enjoy the party.  
  
They partied late into the night. Harry and Ginny alternately opened presents after about four hours of dancing, talking and pulling pranks. Ginny loved her trench coat, and Harry loved the tongue bar, a silver snake that actually moved and wriggled. They hugged each other, and then opened the rest.  
  
Severus and Draco bought Harry a seven foot king cobra, complete with magical aquarium that only took up about three feet by two feet on the outside but gave Isis, as she informed Harry Isis was her name, over a half mile to roam. Ginny loved the tiered choker and bellybutton ring, and quickly put them on, to her mother's dismay.  
  
"Virginia Weaseley! When did you get that?" Molly yelled. Bill ducked, blushing. "William Weaseley! What did you let your sister do???" She chased Bill out of the room, shouting at him.  
  
Harry loved the book on Animagi Hermione bought him, and the deluxe Weaseley's Wizard Wheezes prank kit Ron had gotten him. Remus and Tonks pulled out a large box. "Harry, we found this in Sirius's room. He bought this for you a few days before he died." Harry's eyes welled up with tears and Draco squeezed his hand under the table. Harry waited for Ginny to open her gifts from Ron and Hermione- a magical diary and a book on makeup charms and tips- before touching his.  
  
He opened the box and gasped. Inside was a pensieve, with a letter attached to the side. Harry opened the letter with trembling fingers and read it.  
  
  
  
My dear Godson, Happy Sixteenth Birthday! Inside are my, Remus's, Dumbledore's and several other people's memories of your parents growing up and attending Hogwarts. I know how much you miss them. I miss them too, kid. Again, Happy Birthday and I love you.  
  
Sirius  
  
  
  
Harry put his head on the table, tears streaming down his face. Alanna hugged him, and pulled him up from the table. She walked him over to the corner of the room and hugged him.  
  
"Harry," she told him gently. "First, he may not be dead, and second, Xander and I have a gift for you that we think you will really like. However, it cannot arrive until the first day of school."  
  
Harry stared at her, feeling marginally better. "Not even a hint?" he teased, a wan smile gracing his features.  
  
"That's my boy!" she praised, cuffing his shoulder. "Let's just say that memories do not take the place of the real thing." Harry stared at her, confused. Draco, who had caught the end of that, stared at her in surprise and comprehension. Alanna stared at him, and put a finger to her lips. Draco nodded, tears of joy streaming down his face.  
  
A/N: Ok, who liked it? It was so much fun to write, and my mom actually read this one over my shoulder and likes my storyline! YAY! So, keep reading, and chapter 12 should be up in several days.  
  
B/N: I LIKED IT! I LIKED IT! Good story, very good. DIBBS ON ONE OF THE DEMONS! That will make an awesome pet! Mwahahahahaha, fear me, puny mortals- who-don't-have-really-cool-pets! ........... ................ Yes *ahem* well anyways, COOKIES for those who read it and extra FUDGE for those who reviewed and made my sis happy! If you are allergic to fudge (or cookies for that matter) review, tell my sis, and I will send you what you like... just make sure it isn't pork rinds (shudder). Hasta luego! 


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12  
  
The party wrapped up around one in the morning, and the guests all slept over, not having the energy to even apparate home. Harry, Draco, Ginny, Severus, Blaise, and Marianna headed down into the Slytherin Dorms, exhausted and ready for sleep, to the surprise and consternation of the DA members. They all piled into Harry and Draco's room, unwilling to sleep anywhere else. Harry and Draco speedily conjured thick feather beds and down blankets for everyone, and Severus claimed the third bed.  
  
"Harry, are you finally going to tell your story? You know, about why you're so pissed at Dumbledore?" Blaise asked after they had all settled into their beds.  
  
Harry propped himself up on his elbows, thinking how best to start without telling too much. "Dumbledore has completely manipulated me and I'm sick of it," he finally began. Everyone sat up, listening to him intently. Draco got up from his bed and sat next to Harry, placing his arm around his shoulders. Harry leaned back into the embrace, wondering how to continue.  
  
"Dumbledore sent me to live with my relatives, the Dursleys, following the death of my parents. He thought that there was some sort of blood magic protecting me, which was not the case. Alanna told us that I was just too powerful for Voldemort to kill." Blaise and Marianna winced at the Dark Lord's name. "Dumbledore left me in an abusive home, where I was hurt horribly for being able to do magic, and he didn't do a thing to stop it." Draco's arm tightened. "Dumbledore knew that my mum and Uncle Severus had completed a Blood Binding ritual, and he could have left me with him, but he didn't. In fact, my mum had put in her will that I was supposed to live with Professor Snape if anything happened to her and my dad if Sirius Black, my godfather, couldn't take me in."  
  
Blaise gaped at him. "Sirius Black, the Death Eater who betrayed your parents, is your Godfather?"  
  
Harry sighed. "Sirius was innocent. Peter Pettigrew was the betrayer, not Siri. Pettigrew is Wormtail, the Death Eater." Blaise nodded, incredibly surprised.  
  
"So, Dumbledore has been grooming me to be the perfect little pawn in his master plan, and I'm tired of it. He didn't tell me a thing about the Prophesy, or why Voldemort targeted me and my parents, or anything. He's been feeding me snippets of information, stringing me along, and I can't bloody take it any more." Harry finished ranting and lay back against Draco's chest, ignoring the strange look Blaise had on his face as he stared at the two demigods.  
  
"So, in the end, Dumbledore isn't any better than Voldemort..." Blaise mused, breaking the silence.  
  
Draco shifted his weight. "I wouldn't say that," he commented. "Dumbledore is much better than Voldemort. He doesn't cast Crucatius on his followers or threaten their families. He is genuinely working for the greater good of the Wizarding World. He just doesn't have the best plan of how to get his goals accomplished. He is only human, after all. He makes mistakes."  
  
"Even thought he thinks he is better than the demigods," Harry remarked sourly.  
  
Severus snorted. "Alanna and Xander disproved him of that in a hurry."  
  
"How did you know? You weren't even there..." Harry trailed off, confused.  
  
"When we bonded like that, we received each others' memories, Harry. Suffice to say I now know exactly who stole my potions ingredients in second year." Harry gulped at the mock glare on his uncle's face.  
  
Draco stared at Harry. "That was you and Ron? Damn, a polyjuice potion in second year. Are you sure you abhor potions?"  
  
Harry squirmed, uncomfortable. "I don't abhor it, necessarily. It just goes too slow for me." At Severus and Draco's incredulous and slightly miffed looks, he hastened to explain. "I like the other stuff because I can pick it up so quickly and move on to other things. When I brew a potion, I get bored with it half way through. It's like I can't concentrate on it long enough to complete it, or something. Hermione was talking about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or something. She says I can't concentrate on anything, which is why my papers suck."  
  
Severus stared at him thoughtfully. "So if you could concentrate on your studies, you'd like it better?" he asked, musing on several solutions to the problem.  
  
"I guess, I've never thought of it before." Harry yawned, suddenly so tired he could barely keep his eyes open.  
  
*Go to sleep, Harry. We all need our rest.* Ginny sleepily grinned at him, and Draco moved back to his own bed.  
  
"Everyone, go to sleep. We've had a long day," Severus ordered kindly. Everyone was all too happy to comply. The weary Potions master dimmed the lights, and everyone finally fell asleep.  
  
  
  
The following morning at breakfast, after all the guests had left, Dumbledore took Harry aside. The Headmaster pulled him out of the Great Hall.  
  
"Harry, I know you agreed to help your aunt, but I have another favor to ask you. Remember how Dudley needs to take his OWLS in about a week? Would you mind helping him study? I would be extremely grateful." Harry nodded, thinking only about his now cold breakfast.  
  
"Sure, Professor Dumbledore, Draco, Hermione, Ron, and I would be more than happy to help." He turned and walked back to the Slytherin table. He slid back into his seat next to Draco and across from Ginny and Severus.  
  
*Draco, Hermione, Ron? Dudley needs help with studying for the OWLS. I think we can just imprint the information we learned in his mind, so it should take about five minutes, maximum. You game?* Harry idly speared a piece of egg.  
  
*Sure, Harry. I'll help your cousin. Who knows? Maybe he'll do better than all of us combined....* Hermione thought, sincerely hoping that he wouldn't.  
  
Harry snickered. *Considering he was sorted into Hufflepuff, I don't think so.* Draco laughed out loud, startling Dudley and Petunia, who had just walked into the hall.  
  
"Hey, Dudley! Over here!" Harry waved his cousin over, and really looked at him. *Hmmm. Dudley's actually lost a lot of weight. This whole magic thing could be good for him, after all.*  
  
Dudley and Petunia sat down next to Harry and Draco, immediately tucking into breakfast. "Hey, Dudley, you are taking the OWLS in a week, right?" Dudley nodded. "Hermione, Draco, Ron, and I will help you study, the demigod way." Dudley brightened, grinning. Petunia stared at her nephew strangely.  
  
"What is the demigod way to studying, or do I even want to know?" she asked, toying with a piece of toast.  
  
"It's simple, really. We just take what we know and imprint it into Dudley's mind. It's almost exactly like a computer download, but no viruses." Petunia nodded, but Draco looked incredibly confused by the explanation. *What's a computer?* he asked Harry.  
  
Harry stared at him. *That is going to take too long to explain. How about I just show you one then next time we hit Muggle London, instead?* Draco nodded.  
  
"Oh, Aunt Petunia, which hospital do you work in?" Harry asked, changing the conversation.  
  
"St. Bridget's in South Surrey, why? Oh wait, I have to call them. My leave of absence is almost up." she answered, looking around for a telephone. "Harry, is there a phone in here?"  
  
"No, phones don't work here. But, I have a thought about where you're going to stay, you know, with the divorce and all; you can't go back to Privet Drive. Supposedly I own an apartment complex in South Surry that I think is within two blocks from the hospital. So, I think I'm going to go over there to check it out later on today. You want to come?"  
  
Petunia stared at him in shock, a tear slipping down her face. "Harry, I've never been anything but horrid to you. Why are you helping us?" she sobbed, her voice wavering. She stood up abruptly, knocking over her goblet of orange juice and walked away from the table. Harry waved his hand, making the mess disappear.  
  
"What do you mean why am I helping you? What do you expect me to do?" Harry asked, confused. He turned to Draco, who was studying him intently. "What? What did I do?"  
  
"She is right. Why are you helping her and Dudley? They hurt you and treated you horribly, but you are helping Dudley fit into Hogwarts and now you have offered your aunt a place to live. They were ABUSIVE, Harry. Why are you helping them?" Draco buttered a piece of toast.  
  
Harry stared at him. "I-I don't know," he finally said, staring at his plate, a wave of fury unexpectedly rushing over him. Angrily, he pushed it away from him. "The same reason I helped you, the same reason I do every fucking thing around here. BECAUSE IT'S EXPECTED OF ME!" he bellowed and ran out of the hall. Draco heard the doors the Entrance Hall slam open and shut. Severus raised his eyebrows.  
  
"I assume you know what that was all about?" he asked his Godson.  
  
"I have no idea, but I'm about to find out." Draco stood up, and with much less fanfare, gracefully strode from the Hall. Ginny, brows nearly in her hairline, started to stand up.  
  
"Are you coming?" she asked Sev. Sev stood up as well, taking one last swig of pumpkin juice.  
  
"Let's go find out what's bothering him now," he dourly said, rolling his eyes heavenward.  
  
  
  
Harry sat in the hot spring, trying to soak away his anger. *I just don't understand. Everything is changing so rapidly, it's hard to keep up. Ron and Hermione aren't my best friends anymore, and now my archrival in school has taken their place, along with my former best friend's sister. I'm related to the same professor who has made my life hell for the last six years at the only place I can call home, and now I am paying the tuition and giving a home to the people who have beaten and starved me for my entire life. Why the fuck is everything so confusing?* Harry opened his eyes to see Draco leaning against a tree.  
  
*Damn, that is confusing. What brought it all on?* Draco asked, stripping down to his boxers. He waved a hand, and they turned into swim trunks.  
  
*I don't know. Damn it all to hell, I can't even be mad at you any more! This SUCKS!* Harry slid under water completely. Only a small stream of exhaled bubbles marked his location. Draco slid into the water next to him, sighing in bliss. Severus and Ginny appeared in the small clearing, her holding onto Sev's arm for dear life.  
  
*I DON'T like apparation,* Ginny whimpered, scowling. She saw the water and gasped eyes wide. *Ohhh, that looks heavenly.* She hastily stripped down to a neatly transfigured tankini bathing suit and slid quickly into the water. Severus followed suit, snickering quietly at his newest 'niece'.  
  
Harry sat back up, scowling. *What is this, a pool party? Who invited you all, anyway? I did want to be alone.* Draco cuffed his head.  
  
*Dumbass, you can't ditch us. That's what it means to be a Slytherin or to hang out with Slytherins. You can't get rid of us so easily.* Severus nodded his agreement, smirking.  
  
*Besides, Ron may not have inherited the Weaseley temper, but I have. Harold James Potter, what the HELL do you think you are trying to pull?* Ginny yelled at him, glaring. "First, you snap at everyone and now you are being rude! Knock it the fuck off!*  
  
*GINNY, LANGUAGE!* Severus glared at her. She glared back at him, and then rolled her eyes.  
  
*Fine, I'm sorry, Uncle Sev. I'm sorry I offended you.* She sat back, too relaxed to argue. *Harry, just talk to us. You don't need to be an ass about it.*  
  
Harry sighed. *I haven't even figured it out myself.*  
  
*SO TALK ALREADY!* came the heated response from the three of them.  
  
*Why? Why should I be talking to you? Why am I agreeing to everything? Why aren't I fighting this tooth and nail? Why the hell am I just accepting that the two people who have made my life here miserable are now two of the closest people to me? Why am I just accepting that my best friends are too wrapped up in themselves to notice me? Why am I helping the two people who could have saved me from my uncle raping me?? Why am I doing this?* He leaned back, resting his head on a mossy knoll behind him.  
  
Severus, Ginny, and Draco stared at each other. Ginny had tears in her eyes. *What did your uncle do to you?* she asked in astonishment and anger. She looked back and forth between her 'uncle' and 'brother'. *And WHY isn't anyone torturing that fat bastard right now?*  
  
Harry looked at her tiredly. *Because I, for some God awful reason, don't want to. Even though I should hate him with every fiber of my being, I just can't. I can't hate anyone, and that's the emotion that's been fueling me for so long that I don't know what to do. I should hate Voldemort, I should hate my uncle, I should hate Lestrange, I should hate Slytherins, but I don't. Everything is fucked, and I just can't bring myself to care. Do you know that I felt nothing when I killed her? Nothing. It was like squashing a bug, and that scares me. I feel that I should be reacting and fighting these changes, but I'm not and I don't know why. I finally thought about it and it scares me. I don't know why I'm taking this so well.*  
  
*Considering that you are currently freaking out, I don't think you are taking this well at all.* Severus leaned forward, pulling his nephew into a hug. Harry relaxed, then stiffened and backed away.  
  
*This is what I'm talking about. Why are you hugging me, and why am I allowing it? Why do I want you to hug me? I don't get it. I'm so confused,* Harry moaned, tears leaking from his eyes. Draco sighed.  
  
*Maybe because you really like him and want him to be your guardian?* Draco asked, shaking his head. *Stop questioning it and just go with it, Harry. Why question the first real good thing that has ever happened to you?*  
  
*Because everything good that has happened to me has come at a price tag, or has been taken away. I finally escape my uncle, only to have to go back every summer. I make friends, but as soon as I show them the real me, they get scared and think I'm evil or a freak. I gain a godfather only to have him taken away from me before he can take me out of that house. I'm tired of it. What if you all are taken away from me? I can't take it if I lose you also.*  
  
Severus sighed in exasperation. *Oh come here, you.* He pulled Harry into a bear hug, Draco and Ginny joining in.  
  
*Group hug!* Ginny sniggered, and they all looked at each other, cracking up.  
  
Harry sat there for a long time in his uncle's, soul mate's and little sister's arms. After a while they separated, still laughing. They sat in the spring for an hour, just talking.  
  
*You know, Harry, we aren't going anywhere. We are going to be here for you, no matter what. It's going to take more than the occasional shit fit from you to drive us away, and we don't think you are an evil freak* Severus promised, smirking.  
  
They finally left the spring, talking animatedly. Harry was much calmer. They apparated back to Hogwarts, and Harry went in search of his aunt. He found her in the library, helping Dudley work his way through a tome.  
  
"Oh geez, Duddy, it's been ages since I took Latin in high school. Let's see. The introductory spell Mobilicus Corpus - mobile corpse- can-" Harry sat down, interrupting her.  
  
"Aunt Petunia, those are actually spells. You say them in Latin. Anyway, ditch the book. Let's check out the Apartment complex." He pulled his astonished aunt and cousin up and dragged them to Severus, who was waiting in the corridor.  
  
"So, how are we getting there, Uncle Sev?" Harry asked. Petunia stared worriedly at her nephew.  
  
Severus thought a minute, enjoying the discomfort on Petunia's face. *Oh, this will be fun.* "I thought we'd, what do those Muggles do with those automobiles? Drive?" Petunia blanched at the thought of the Potions Master driving. Little children, pets, and stray chickens, beware!  
  
"Oh no, that's all right. Isn't there a way to connect the Floo?" Petunia hastily suggested.  
  
"No, we don't know who lives there, if anyone at all. So, we'll have to go incognito in an automobile. I'll just get the Rolls." Severus sauntered down the hall and disappeared from view.  
  
"He has a ROLLS???" Petunia gasped.  
  
Harry grinned. "When traveling with some of the richest wizards in the world, you travel in style."  
  
Harry, Dudley, and Petunia walked out of the school and stared as a sleek black Rolls Royce pulled up to the gates. Severus, Draco and Ginny poked their heads out the windows.  
  
"Hey, come on!" Ginny called, waving. Harry jogged to the car and, pulling the back door open, held it for his Aunt and cousin.  
  
  
  
Three hours later, they returned to Hogwarts. Harry had set up his aunt in one of the townhouses. She still could not understand why Harry was helping her, and Harry didn't understand it, either, but he did it anyway. Harry and Draco, later that day, with the help of Hermione, basically downloaded five years of knowledge into Dudley's brain in five minutes flat.  
  
Three days later, Dudley sat for his OWLS. Harry and Draco went over the questions with him afterwards, and were shocked to discover that Dudley would probably score an E or better on all his OWLS.  
  
Petunia, when Vernon was out of the house on Privet Drive, Flooed there with the intent to pack her, Dudley's and Harry's belongings and leave. Harry went with her to help. They discovered that Vernon, in the month since they had last seen him, had completely trashed the house. Beer bottles and TV dinner trays were strewn about the floor, the garbage was overflowing, and there were rips and stains on the upholstery. Harry grimly walked upstairs after his aunt. Harry stood in the center of the hallway, unwilling to even set foot in his bedroom. He spread his arms and bellowed "PACK!" Objects began flying out of the rooms and into several boxes he had conjured. Petunia came screaming out of the bedroom, being chased by her flying cocktail dress. She watched, amazed, and everything packed itself in two minutes. Harry quickly levitated the boxes and they Flooed to her new townhouse in South Surrey to drop off the boxes.  
  
The next week went by slowly. Petunia left Hogwarts, leaving Dudley behind with the promise to visit after work each day. Harry, Draco, Severus, Dudley, Ginny, Ron and Hermione continued to train every day. Everyone started Apparation and Animal transformations, having mastered their Elements, or, in the case of Harry, Draco, and Severus, all the elements. Ginny perfected her mind and fire control in a matter of days of training.  
  
Harry quietly discussed with Draco, Ginny and Severus his suspicions about how she came to possess demonic abilities about two weeks after the party.  
  
"Ginny, what did the Diary exactly do to you? Did you black out and it possess you? Or were you aware of what was happening?" he asked while they were relaxing at the spring.  
  
Ginny frowned. "I don't like to talk about it much, mainly because no one understands and they treat me like glass. But, the first time I blacked out when the Diary possessed me. After that, I was able to regain a little more control each time. Tom wanted to kill, but I barely managed to stop him. Why?"  
  
"I think the diary was responsible for the increase in your powers. I remember you telling Dean that it all started after the incident with the Chamber of Secrets in our second year. What do you think?" he asked Draco and Severus.  
  
Draco had a gleam in his eye. "And I suppose you don't have the diary still?"  
  
Harry shook his head. "I used it to free Dobby at the end of it all. Your dad has it." Harry thought for a minute. "You could summon it," he said doubtfully.  
  
Draco thought for a moment. "Yeah, but then Dumbledore might see it. Let's do it somewhere where he won't be. How hard is it to get into Slytherin's Lair?"  
  
"I really don't want to go back to the Chamber." Harry tried not to think about all the sweet talking Moaning Myrtle would need to allow them back in the Girl's Lavatory. Ginny caught his train of thought and laughed.  
  
"You had to flirt with HER???" She sniggered, tears of mirth rolling down her cheeks.  
  
"Hey, she had the crush in ME, not the other way around. She even told me I could share her haunting ground if I died..." Harry laughed at the memory. Draco and Severus stared at him, disturbed.  
  
"Let's go to the Chamber, then, although I really don't want to see Harry flirt with a ghost." Severus grimaced at the image.  
  
"Hey! I don't flirt back!" Harry protested, laughing. They stood and climbed out of the spring, drying instantly. Harry, Draco, Sev and Ginny looked at each other.  
  
"Are you three ready to try apparating, or do you want to hang onto me?" Severus asked once they were dressed.  
  
Harry took a deep breath. *You can do this* he told himself. Draco and Ginny tensed beside him, preparing to Apparate. With a loud POP, the three of them disappeared and reappeared- inside the Girl's Lavatory on the third floor. Severus waited a heartbeat and apparated as well, following them. Thankfully, Myrtle wasn't anywhere around.  
  
Harry opened the Chamber with a hissed "OPEN". They grimly slid down the tunnel and strode resolutely into the Chamber of Secrets. Harry, leading the way, gagged as the overpowering reek of rotting flesh filled the air. He grimly forced the air to clear and waved everyone else through. Severus strode to the center of the Chamber where the 100 foot Basilisk lay, decomposing. Severus immediately began to get samples, pulling off still viable scales for Potions ingredients.  
  
"How come you never told us about this, Harry?" Severus asked, engrossed in his work. "Do you even know how hard Basilisk ingredients are to come by? They are almost unable to be found except for on the black market."  
  
"I'm sorry I didn't take time out of battling for my life against this ugly thing to remember that you needed potions ingredients" Harry sarcastically replied. He picked up the fang he had used to stab the despised book and stared at it, memories rushing back to him.  
  
"I'll take that, thank you!" Severus grabbed the fang and put it into a large jar. He shrank the jars and then, with a wave of his hand, the now stripped skeleton of the enormous serpent disappeared.  
  
Draco stood in the center of the room and concentrated. He raised his hand, and the diary flew into it with a loud crack. For some reason, it had been restored, the hole in the center a tiny scar. Ginny took it from his hand, her fingers trembling.  
  
"I can still feel him in there," she whispered. Harry started to take to diary from her, but Severus stopped him. "Let's see what happens," he whispered.  
  
Ginny put the book on the ground and opened it to the center of the book. She knelt down, and put her hands over the pages. Her hands glowed a bright, swirling gold and scarlet as she concentrated. Black wisps began to emerge from her outstretched hands, and a miniature vision of Tom Riddle appeared.  
  
"Ahhh... Ginny.... What a surprise. I didn't expect to sssssee you again....." the vision hissed.  
  
"Hello, Tom," Ginny replied. "You look different than I remember. How did you get older?"  
  
"Thatsss for me to know... and you to figure out..." he hissed, mocking her.  
  
"I think not. Tom, I invoked your spirit. I ask the questions, you answer, or else I'll destroy you." Ginny raised her hand, and a spurt of flame erupted from her fingertips.  
  
"But, Ginny... you can't make me... you aren't sssstrong enough."  
  
"Do you really want to test that?" Ginny hissed back, her eyes turning black with a red fire behind then. Harry, Draco and Sev put their hands on her shoulders, flaring their auras.  
  
"She isn't alone, Tom. She has usssss," Harry ended in a hiss. The vision stared at the four of them and began to talk, tripping over syllables in an effort to get the words out as fast as possible.  
  
"The diary is Clautius's way for his chosen followers to gain even more power than they already had. It links the person's soul to the diary, and thereby, a demon. The demon becomes a part of the person, and the person absorbs the demon. What else do you want to know?" the vision rushed.  
  
"How come you are older?" Draco asked.  
  
"I appear to be as old as the last time I wrote in the diary. The last time I wrote was a week ago." Ginny sat back, releasing the spirit. It sank back into the pages, defeated.  
  
"So Voldemort has his demonic powers back. That's good to know." Severus said thoughtfully, staring at the pages.  
  
"That's ok, we can take him," Harry smirked. Draco smirked and nodded.  
  
Ginny conjured an easy chair and sat down wearily. They each conjured a chair and sat, discussing strategy and how best to deal with this problem. After almost a half an hour, they decided to go back up to the school.  
  
"You know, Harry this would make a really cool meeting place and Lab," Sev said thoughtfully, "if it were set up right. How do you open the sink again?"  
  
Harry spent the entire return trip up teaching the three of them Parseltongue.  
  
  
  
Two weeks before school started, five official looking owls flew into Hogwart's Great Hall at Lunchtime. The OWLS had arrived! Harry and Draco ripped open their letters and eagerly scanned their results.  
  
Harry's eyes widened in surprise. *Oh WOW!* he thought happily. *These are better than I thought!*  
  
OWLS RESULTS FOR HAROLD JAMES POTTER  
  
Astronomy E, A  
  
Care of Magical Creatures O, O  
  
Charms O, O  
  
Defense Against Dark Arts O, O  
  
Divination E, A  
  
History of Magic E, E  
  
Potions O, O  
  
Transfiguration O, O  
  
Possible careers: Auror, Professor, Minister of Magic, Healer  
  
Harry stole a look at Draco's results after Ginny stole his from his hand. She and Severus were studying his results happily.  
  
OWLS RESULTS FOR DRACONIS ANGELUS MALFOY  
  
Astronomy O, O  
  
Ancient Runes E, O  
  
Care of Magical Creatures E, E  
  
Charms O, O  
  
Defense Against Dark Arts O, O  
  
History of Magic O, E  
  
Potions O, O  
  
Transfiguration O, O  
  
Possible Career Choices: Healer, Auror, Potions Master, Professor  
  
"Damn, really good. Two more Os than I got. I would have gotten an O in Divination, but Voldemort just had to send me that nice little vision right in the middle of it." Harry griped, eating a turkey sandwich.  
  
"You're just mad that I got better grades than you, Potter," Draco mock sneered, laughing. Harry smirked back at him, agreeing with his observation.  
  
"Oh shut up, you both did wonderfully. Let's see what Dudley got. I bet Hermione got a perfect score, as usual." Ginny dragged Harry and Draco over to the Gryffindor table, where Dudley was talking amiably with Hermione and Ron.  
  
"Hey, Dudley, how did you do?" Harry asked. Dudley grinned.  
  
"Really well! I got the best grades I've every gotten in my life! Four Os, and ten Es! Thanks for your help, Harry, Draco!"  
  
"Hey, Harry, Guess what? I got a perfect score! Isn't that great?" Hermione beamed, ecstatic.  
  
*Told ya, perfect score. Now she's gonna rub that in our faces until the second coming!* Ginny groaned, mentally laughing. Harry and Draco mentally agreed with her, careful not to let their expressions change.  
  
"SO, what are you going to take next year?" Harry asked, changing the subject. Draco and Hermione brightened, anxious to start the new school year. Harry and Ron rolled their eyes in unison.  
  
"I want to continue Ancient Runes, start Languages of Power and Spellwriting, Advanced Newts Level Potions, and Advanced Newts Level Care of Magical Creatures. The rest I really don't want to take. They're going to be so boring with all the wandless magic we've learned. Transfiguration and Charms will be a snap, literally." Draco drawled, smirking.  
  
Hermione glared at him. "How can you say that? They still have loads to teach us and-" Harry cut her off impatiently.  
  
"He's right, 'Mione. We all can just will stuff into being. There's no point to trying to transfigure something when we can create it out of thin air." Hermione closed her mouth with a snap, then nodded reluctantly.  
  
"You are right, I didn't think of it that way. We are way to advanced for that stuff. But, Spellwriting sounds like fun. Harry, what are you going to take?"  
  
"Same as Draco. It'll make things a lot easier for studying and tests. But, I heard that Uncle Sev is going to have and Experimental Potions class, to create new potions and improve old ones. That sounds like fun." Harry made a face. "I hope he changes his mind about it only being open to seventh years."  
  
Ron stared at him incredulously. "I thought you hated Potions," he accused.  
  
Harry shrugged. "Not really, since being so closely bonded with Draco, I'm able to concentrate more. I find it pretty cool, actually." Draco smirked.  
  
*I know I'm such a grounding presence,* he teased.  
  
*If you're so grounding, then how come I'm earth and you're supposed to be the airhead?* Harry teased back. Draco pouted.  
  
Ron stared at them, still disgusted with Harry's choices.  
  
Ginny swung her arms around Harry and Draco's necks. "So, you two going to help me with my classes?" she asked playfully. Harry swung her up into his arms, much to Ron's dismay.  
  
"Sure, sis, anything. Oh you might want to take Runes. Divination was just a joke, and I've heard that Arithmancy is pretty nice as well." Ginny squealed as he swung her around. The three of them strode from the hall, laughing. Ron and Hermione stared after them, confused and sad.  
  
"''Mione, when did we lose them both?" Ron asked, staring forlornly after his former best friend and his little sister.  
  
  
  
Four days later, Petunia requested that Harry and Dudley visit the townhouse. She was most secretive about why, refusing to say a word to either of them about what was going on.  
  
They arrived through the Floo, and Petunia showed them into the dining room. There at the table, was a man with a huge stack of papers in front of him.  
  
"Boys, this is Mr. Adams, Mr. Adams, this is my son and nephew. Dudley, Harry, he's my divorce lawyer. We are drawing up the paperwork, and we need you to sign the documents as to where you want to live, since you both are of the age to choose." Dudley took a pen from his mother's hand, frowning.  
  
"I guess there's no point in even debating this topic. Dad hates me." Dudley signed the paper after filling out the required areas.  
  
Aunt Petunia, I need Uncle Severus to come here. He is supposed to be my legal guardian, and I would like you two to share that responsibility." Petunia nodded, and a minute later, Severus walked into the room.  
  
"Harry, what's going on?" Se asked. Harry handed him the papers and he read them frowning at the legal jargon. "So, why am I here, then? This seems as straightforward as it can get." He handed the papers back to Harry.  
  
"My mum said in her will that you're my guardian. I want you to fulfill that role, along with Aunt Petunia. If you sign the documents, you will assume that responsibility." Severus snatched the papers and signed on the dotted line, smirking. Harry signed as well, documenting his consent.  
  
Mr. Adams took the papers back and set them in his briefcase. "Now that that's over with, thank you for your time, gentlemen." Harry and Severus flooed back to Hogwarts. Dudley, in a show of support for his mum, stayed behind.  
  
  
  
Five days before school started, everyone trooped into Diagon Alley to buy their school supplies. Harry, Ginny, Severus and Draco stared, amazed at how quickly everything had been rebuilt and returned to normal.  
  
*It's like nothing ever happened here,* Ginny remarked in wonder, staring at Flourish and Blotts, which had been almost completely destroyed by fire and their magic. They quickly got their books and paid for them, not really wanting to hang around any longer than they had to. Ron and Hermione had disappeared the minute they had stepped from the Floo, mumbling something about needing school supplies. Harry suspected that they had found an isolated place to snog without interruptions.  
  
Harry and Draco snuck into Knockturn Alley, determined to find Potions ingredients for the Experimental Potions class. Ginny followed them, having nothing better to do. Dudley sat in the Leaky Cauldron with ten Galleons, determined to sample every type of liquor Tom had in stock.  
  
Harry, Ginny and Draco strode into an Apocathary Store, just browsing. They suddenly heard a familiar voice. Harry shrouded them in an invisibility spell, and they saw Pansy, her father, Theodore Nott, and his father come out of the back.  
  
"Theo, you had better find a way to hide the Mark better than you did last year," Pansy whined in her high pitched, nasal voice. Draco shuddered.  
  
"Pans, relax. No one will find out." Theodore slung an arm around her shoulders and kissed her on the lips. Draco gagged silently, feeling the bile rise in his throat.  
  
*How can he even stand touching her? That is so GROSS!*  
  
Harry, Draco and Ginny apparated out of the store before they were discovered. They hurried back to the Leaky Cauldron, thoroughly disgusted and done with shopping. They checked in with Severus, and told him what they had seen before apparating back to right outside the wards. They walked back to the castle in silence.  
  
  
  
On the afternoon of September First, Harry, Draco, and Ginny waited anxiously at their tables, certain that their friends were about to arrive. Dudley sat at his Hufflepuff table nervously. Sure enough, the second through seventh years bounded through the doors of the Great Hall, laughing and catching up from a summer apart. Luna rushed over to Ginny, and they hugged, laughing.  
  
Neville, Dean, and Seamus walked to Gryffindor table and sat down next to Harry and Ron, the latter ignoring the former. Hermione sat in between them, preparing herself for World War Three. At the Teacher's table, Dumbledore stood, and raised his hand, gesturing for silence. Right next to him, sat a smiling, well dressed Remus Lupin who had returned as the DADA Professor. On the other side of Dumbledore sat Professor Snape, who in his traditional nasty person role, glared at everyone. Gradually the Great Hall quieted, and Professor McGonagall led a group of first years, followed by nine older students, ranging from third to sixth years, from the looks of them. She led them to the front of the Hall, and the Sorting Hal began to sing.  
  
Oh I'm the Sorting Hat,  
That much you can't deny  
I may not be so pretty  
but sort you I shall try.  
  
I could sort you into Gryffindor  
where dwell the brave of heart  
When going into danger  
from your side they'll not depart  
  
Or maybe into Hufflepuff  
you'll truly find your spot  
A tried, true friend you'll always have  
within this loyal lot  
  
Ravenclaw would be the best  
for those of lightning mind  
where intellect and knowledge  
you know you'll always find  
  
Or perhaps into Slytherin  
you'll find it suits you best  
with razor wit and cunning  
you'll sneak on by the rest  
  
I split you into houses  
but you must work together  
an evil comes, far greater  
than, separate, you can weather  
  
Voldemort is just a pawn,  
his master is true evil  
you must put aside your differences  
to fight the forces of the Devil  
  
Our powerful new allies  
have come to play their parts  
the Demigods of Heaven  
have fin'lly come to Hogwarts  
  
With Dragons, Elves, and Veela  
The Vampires are coming, too  
we all must fight together  
or else we all are through  
  
So as I sort you into Houses,  
remember we are one  
We all must work together  
or Hell's forces will have won.  
  
The students stared at each other, some in fear, and others searching the Hall for the Demigods the Hat spoke of. No one made a sound. The teachers looked at each other worriedly.  
  
Dumbledore raised his voice, echoing off the already silent Hall. "This year, we have an unusual occurrence. Dudley Dursley, Harry Potter's cousin, has joined us this year. He has already been sorted into Hufflepuff, and will be starting his sixth year. Please stand, Dudley." Dudley stood shyly, and the entire Hall was filled with applause. He sat down, blushing.  
  
Dumbledore continued, clearing his throat. "Also, we have nine transfer students to be sorted, and twenty first years." He sat down and nodded to Professor McGonagall, who opened her scroll and started to read, her eyebrows knitting in confusion.  
  
"Damien..... DAMIEN!" A tall, strawberry blond teenage boy strode to sit on the stool, smirking.  
  
"RAVENCLAW, 5th year!" shouted the Hat.  
  
"Gabrielle!" A smaller, willowy raven haired girl sat on the stool.  
  
"SLYTHERIN, 4th year!"  
  
"Gaila!" A cute, pixyish teenage girl sat down.  
  
"GRYFFINDOR, 6th year!"  
  
"George, Emily!" A tall, curvy redhead sauntered up.  
  
"SLYTHERIN, 6th year!"  
  
"Michael!" A tall, extremely sexy, dark haired teen swaggered up to the stool.  
  
"SLYTHERIN, 6th year!"  
  
"Nicholai!" A dark haired, Russian boy sat on the stool.  
  
"HUFFLEPUFF, 5th year!"  
  
"Olivia!" A tall, pretty blond sat on the stool  
  
"GRYFFINDOR, 6th year!"  
  
"Raphael!" A tall, hot, Latino guy walked up to the stool.  
  
"SLYTHERIN, 6th year!"  
  
"Rowan!" A tall blond girl swept up the isle.  
  
"RAVENCLAW, 4th year!"  
  
Once the transfer students had sat down, finished, Professor McGonagall started to call the First Years one by one.  
  
"Andrews, Erin!" A small blond crept to the stool.  
  
"HUFFLEPUFF!"  
  
"Bones, James!" Susan Bones's younger brother sat down on the stool.  
  
"HUFFLEPUFF!"  
  
"Botts, Lawrence!" A dark haired boy suspiciously eyed the Hat as it was placed on his head.  
  
"RAVENCLAW!"  
  
"Davids, Griffin!" A sandy blond youth smirked at the Hat before slipping it on.  
  
"GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
"Finnigan, Kelly!" Seamus's little sister smirked as she sat down.  
  
"SLYTHIERIN!"  
  
"Finnigan, Sean!" Her twin brother shook his head at her, then sat down himself.  
  
"RAVENCLAW!"  
  
"Hicks, Julie!" A scared little redhead shyly sat down and closed her eyes.  
  
"HUFFLEPUFF!"  
  
"Hocter, William!" A boy of medium build strode to the stool and planted the hat firmly on his head.  
  
"GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
"Jones, Erika!" A smart looking girl with glasses sat down nervously.  
  
"RAVENCLAW!"  
  
"Kelly, Bridget!" A flaming redhead with icy blue eyes smirked as she sat.  
  
"SLYTHERIN!"  
  
"Lupa, Argonne!" a beautiful waif with silver hair strode to the stool.  
  
"SLYTHERIN!"  
  
"Malfoy, Crystal!" A pretty strawberry blond sat down, a disinterested look on her face.  
  
"RAVENCLAW!"  
  
"Malfoy, Veronica!" A brunette took her place.  
  
"SLYTHERIN!"  
  
"O'Brian, Kevin!" A sandy blond boy shrugged and sat down on the stool.  
  
"GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
McGonagall's eyes widened in surprise and fear as she read the next name, and she turned as white as the parchment in her hand. "Potter.... James." Harry's head shot up and he stared at the black haired boy who sauntered up to the stool. Severus's and Remus's heads shot up as well, an they both turned white. Remus started to cry softly, and Severus searched the last bunch of First Years. He gasped, and tears streamed down his cheeks.  
  
"Hey, Minerva- oops, I mean Professor McGonagall. So sorry. Hey, HAT! How's it going?" He sat on the stool.  
  
"Hello, Mr. Potter, you know where you're going. Ever the GRYFFINDOR!" Harry stared at the smirking boy, and then focused on the petite redhead with green eyes who was staring at him, love in her eyes. He turned to Alanna and Xander seated at the end of the Teacher's table. They nodded at him slowly, grinning insanely. Harry stared, wide eyed, and started to cry.  
  
James sat down next to his son. They looked at each other, tears falling freely down their faces. The rest of the students stared at them, completely confused.  
  
McGonagall stared at the parchment. "Potter, Lily Evans..." she managed to gasp before falling to the floor in a dead faint. Lily sauntered up.  
  
"Aww, and I wanted to tease her! Hey, Hat! What's up?" She sat on the stool and plopped the hat on her head.  
  
"Hello again, Mrs. Potter. Are you ready to finally go into the house where you belong? You sweet talked me once, but you discovered that you were unhappy." Lily nodded firmly. "All right, SLYTHERIN!" Grinning, Lily hopped off the stool. She strode over to the Gryffindor table and pulled her husband and son by their arms out of their seats. Lily and James grew, in the blink of an eye, from the eleven year olds they had appeared to be to Severus's age as they ran out of the Great Hall together, slamming the doors open with a bang. Severus and Remus, at Alanna's nod, rushed from their seats, sprinting after them. They stood a few feet from the doorway, hugging and crying in plain view of the astounded students.  
  
Ginny and Draco nodded to each other and stood, grinning. They walked from their tables and, slinging their arms around each others' shoulders, strolled out of the Hall. They turned, and, grinning at each other, pulled the doors shut behind them.  
  
"MUM!!! DAD!!!!" 


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: thank you so much for the incredible reviews, everyone! *TAKES A BOW* please, please, hold your applause *Sniff!* it's just too much! Anyway, here's chapter 13  
  
Chapter 13  
  
Dumbledore stood and walked quickly to the still unconscious Deputy Headmistress. He knelt down by her, and quietly whispered "Enervate." She sat up, blinking and rubbing her eyes.  
  
"Albus, did I actually see that? Are Lily and James alive, and HERE?" She asked desperately, wide eyed.  
  
Dumbledore nodded, eyes twinkling. Grasping her hand, he pulled her to her feet. She stood, wobbling, in front of the stunned student body. Dumbledore handed her the scroll. "Why don't you finish sorting the students, Minerva?" he asked her gently. McGonagall nodded resolutely.  
  
"Ramero, Juan?" a scared looking boy walked forward.  
  
"HUFFLEPUFF!"  
  
"Seymour, Selena?" She called, voice wavering. A dark haired girl with brilliant green eyes skipped forward.  
  
"SLYTHERIN!" the Hat bellowed immediately.  
  
"Thomas, Angela!" Dean's younger sister walked up to the front of the room.  
  
"RAVENCLAW!"  
  
"Umbridge, Jordan!" A chubby boy resembling the bitch from hell who had tried to destroy the school last year crept forward.  
  
"HUFFLEPUFF!"  
  
"Zambini, Marianna?" Blaise's little sister walked forward, smirking.  
  
"RAVENCLAW!" With that, the sorting was finished, not that anyone had been paying attention.  
  
Dumbledore strode to the doors of the Great Hall, intending clearly to open them and greet the Potters. Selena and Griffin, two of the first years, suddenly disappeared from their respective seats at the Gryffindor and Slytherin Tables and appeared right in front of him. The Headmaster stopped short in shock and stared at them warily.  
  
"You cannot go through," Selena stated calmly, regally.  
  
"Give them time alone. They deserve it," Griffin chimed in, smirking.  
  
Dumbledore drew himself up. "Children, move out of my way." He tried to push past them, but the stood firm. "What the- OH MY GOD!" Dumbledore yelped as the two of them transformed. Selena shifted into a fifty foot Basilisk, and Griffin transformed into a fifty foot lion. He roared, and the Hall shook to its core.  
  
Dumbledore jumped back in fright then recovered. "Knock it off. Please, just let me past."  
  
"NO!" hissed the king of the serpents. The lion roared again, shaking the rafters. The assorted demigods and goddesses (The ones in chapter 12 without last names- all the transfer students except for Emily) disappeared, reappearing in front of the two enormous animals. They stood, glowing their respective auras.  
  
Alanna and Xander walked over to stand just behind Dumbledore. "I'd like to introduce our siblings. They have come to prepare for war, as well as train the most proficient students. They are, in order, Gaila and Raphael," the pair inclined their heads, "Damien and Nicholai," they nodded regally, "Olivia and Michael," they nodded, "and Rowen and Gabrielle" They grinned and nodded. The two in Animagi forms changed back into their human forms.  
  
Selena Seymour stood proudly then her form wavered. A tall, dark haired man with startling green eyes stood there. He looked eerily like Harry Potter, without the lightning scar. Dumbledore gasped. "I am Salazar Slytherin" he stated regally, then returned to his chosen form.  
  
Griffin stood next to her then changed as well. "And I am Godric Gryffindor," the tall, muscular golden blond quietly stated before returning to his chosen form as well.  
  
Dumbledore stared at the living legends in his school. *Oh MY GOD* he thought, and then tried in vain to collect himself. "Why can't I pass?" he asked, trying to sound commanding, but failing miserably.  
  
"You can't because they haven't seen each other in fifteen years. Give them some time," Alanna tried to reason with him. "He's their son and they missed him."  
  
Dumbledore still refused, stubbornly. "No! Miss Weaseley, Mr. Malfoy, Severus, and Remus are out there!"  
  
  
  
Harry was wrapped in the loving arms of his parents, Uncle, and Remus. *OH GOD, this is the happiest moment of my life!* he thought, tears streaming down his face. Lily kissed his forehead. Harry slid out of his robes, anxious to be rid of them.  
  
*My beautiful boy. Who'd of thought you'd turn out so well. Although, the clothes are a little much, the earrings and a TONGUE BAR??? SEVERUS, WHAT DID YOU LET HIM DO???* Sev jumped guiltily, blushing.  
  
*That's nothing, Mrs. Potter, Uncle Sev got a really cute tattoo that likes to curl up and purr on his left shoulder,* Draco's amused voice cut in. Lily and James turned to look at them confusion on their faces. Draco and Ginny had discarded their robes as well, revealing the gothic clothing underneath.  
  
*Harry, love, who are they? I can tell they are important to you.* James asked, an arm still slung around Remus's shoulders.  
  
Harry grinned. *Mum, Dad, this is Draco Malfoy, my soul mate, whatever that means, and Ginny Weaseley. I'm going to adopt her like you and Uncle Sev did.*  
  
Lily stared at Draco, an unreadable expression on her face. She studied him, and he stared back at her. *Um, Mrs. Potter, what is it?* he asked, worried.  
  
*Oh, just wondering what your punishment should be if you ever hurt my son, that's all.* Draco turned a sickly shade of green as she sent him various images of what she would do to him.  
  
*MUM! STOP!* Harry turned to her, infuriated. She stared at him, surprised and hurt.  
  
*What?* she asked. *I haven't been there for you your whole life. Why won't you let me be all maternal and protective?*  
  
*It isn't that. Draco's father let Voldemort torture him this summer, which is how everything got started. He did some of that.*  
  
Lily gasped and hugged Draco. *I'm sorry. That was incredibly stupid of me to do.* Draco hugger her back, smiling weakly.  
  
*It's all right. I know that you had no idea.*  
  
Lily turned back to her son.* So, Harry, how have you been? Have Siri and Sev been treating you well? Where have you been living?*  
  
Severus pulled her aside. He, James, Lily, and Remus stood a few feet away, conversing intently. Harry, Ginny and Draco stood there, listening.  
  
*Lily, the letter never reached me. It was inside the will and they found it when the wills were read six weeks ago. None of us knew, and Siri was sent to Azkaban for being a Death Eater.* Snape winced, knowing the storm that was about to break.  
  
*WHAT???* James and Lily shrieked. *SIRI WASN'T A DEATH EATER!!! PETTIGREW WAS THERE, THE SLIMY -* Severus grasped her hand.  
  
*I know, Lily. I've seen him at the meetings.*  
  
*How- is that bastard still making you put your life on the line???* Lily ripped his sleeve up angrily and gasped. A cute, black kitten blinked large golden eyes at her. *Where's the Mark?* she asked, astonished. *Cute replacement. I like it.*  
  
*Alanna healed it and broke the link. I never have to go back again. And, thank you.* Lily threw her arms around his neck.  
  
*Sev, that's wonderful!* she gasped happily. He hugged her back.  
  
*Oh God, Lily, I missed you.* he murmured.  
  
Lily leaned back in his arms. She looked at her husband, then back at her brother suspiciously. *Sev, you never told me where Harry was sent. If you didn't know to take him, and Siri was in Azkaban then- TELL ME HE WASN'T-*  
  
Sev nodded miserably. *Dumbledore had Hagrid take him to the Dursleys.*  
  
Lily and James turned white. Lily broke from Sev's grasp, power whipping into frenzy. James strode next to her, doing the same. *That FUCKING BASTARD!!! HE KNEW!!!! WE FUCKING TOLD HIM!!!!!! HE KNEW AND THE PROOF WAS IN THE LETTER!!!* They strode to the doors.  
  
Harry whimpered hearing and feeling their anger. *They hate me, Ginny, Draco, they hate me.* he thought miserably, mistakenly thinking they were angry at him. Ginny and Draco hugged him, trying to soothe him.  
  
*No, bro, I swear, they really hate Dumbledore right now, not you.* Ginny said, rubbing his back comfortingly.  
  
*Harry, they aren't mad at you.* Draco echoed. Severus and Remus put their hands on their shoulders, looking grim.  
  
*Oh boy, Sev, you better calm her down. She's going to kill him. You take her, I'll take James. I'd forgotten about their tempers.*  
  
*Let them. He deserves it after what he has done.*  
  
  
  
The demigods stood, bored by Dumbledore's ranting. Suddenly, they looked around, terror plain on their faces. They apparated immediately to a position behind Dumbledore, and threw a combined shield over the students and faculty.  
  
Just as they completed the shields, the doors exploded outward with a roar. The splinters were driven forcefully through the stone wall on the other side of the room. Lily and James stood in the now mangled doorway, expressions of fury on their faces. Dumbledore stood before them alone and exposed.  
  
"Lily! James, how wonderful to see you again! We have so much to discuss!" Dumbledore stood there, grinning, unaware that he was in mortal peril.  
  
Lily, with a scream of rage, threw her hand out. Dumbledore's eyes widened comically in surprise as he was lifted violently from the floor and thrown into the crackling shields. He rebounded with a snap, slamming into the floor. Professors McGonagall, Hooch, Vector, Sinistera, and Flitwick rushed to the edge of the shields, anxious looks on their faces. They watched helplessly as James and Lily advanced on Dumbledore.  
  
"You contemptible PIECE OF SHIT!" screamed James, water whirl pooling around him. "YOU KNEW, AND YOU SENT HIM THERE!! HOW COULD YOU???"  
  
Dumbledore blanched and backed up until he was flush against the shields. Trapped, with nowhere to run, he licked his lips nervously. "The Blood Protection! I thought-"  
  
Lily cut him off angrily. "There WAS NO BLOODY BLOOD PROTECTION SPELL! BESIDES, SEVERUS HAS MY BLOOD!"  
  
"He was spying! If Voldemort had found out, he would have killed them both! We couldn't risk it!"  
  
Lily's face twisted. She, James and Dumbledore suddenly disappeared. Alanna stood outside of the shields.  
  
"Prefects, take your students to their dorms. It's safer there. DOBBY!" she yelled, and the house elf appeared.  
  
"Dobby, could you have the House Elves take dinner up to the common rooms? I don't think the Great Hall is too safe right now." Dobby nodded and disappeared. All the students filed out, giving the demigods and demigoddesses a wide berth.  
  
"Severus, Gaila, Olivia, you are on calming duty. We have two extremely pissed demigods to calm down before they take out the school. The rest of you, go to your common rooms. Shield the students in case the worst happens." Alanna handed out orders with precision, sounding like a military commander.  
  
Severus, Remus, Olivia, Gaila, Draco, Harry, and Ginny quickly ran outside, looking for Lily, James and Dumbledore.  
  
  
  
Lily held Dumbledore in a choke hold high above the school. James held the terrified Headmaster in a full body bind with an evil grin on his face.  
  
"You stupid, senile bastard. You let my son LIVE with a CHILD MOLESTOR!!!" James screamed, enraged beyond all point of reason.  
  
"WE TOLD YOU!!! We CAME to YOU with PROOF!!! WHY DID YOU LET HIM STAY THERE??? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL MY BROTHER????" Lily shrieked, bursting into flames. She whipped up a wind around her, fanning the flames brighter and higher until she looked like a human torch.  
  
Severus, Draco, Harry, and Remus ran around the side of the school and looked up. Severus grinned and started to rise from the ground. Harry, Draco, and Ginny did as well, leaving Remus on the ground below them. Severus hesitated, and finally extended his hand to Remus.  
  
"Need a lift?" he asked casually. Remus's eyes widened at the gesture, but shook his head. Screwing his face in concentration, he slowly began to float from the ground. Severus watched, flabbergasted, as the werewolf joined them quickly in the air, beads of sweat dripping from his nose.  
  
"You sure you don't need help? Who showed you how to do that?" Severus asked, still trying to remain casual.  
  
"I'm just out of practice. I haven't properly flown since Harry was born. Funny how much easier this was when Siri was around. Besides, I hung out with a demigod who knew about his powers from the time he was two. He taught us all how to fly and do wandless magic. If I concentrate hard enough, I can even read thoughts, though I could never read you. That was always strange." Remus hovered for a few seconds, regaining some wind.  
  
He nodded, and they hastened to Lily and James's sides. Olivia and Gaila appeared next to them, faces set in grim determination.  
  
Lily turned to face the newcomers, eyes fiery. "So glad you could join us. Harry, this is what happens when you piss off a person powerful enough to destroy a solar system without breaking a sweat." She turned back to Dumbledore and he started to scream.  
  
"MUM!" Harry yelled, terrified that she would kill him. "Mum, please. Don't. I know that he really hurt me, but he can't die."  
  
"Why not?" asked James, his eyes a deep cerulean from the power he was exerting. "Why can't he die? He hurt you horribly. He deserves to die for what he has done. No one hurts my son and gets away with it. He knew, Harry. He knew and he still sent you there. He knew that Vernon would do that to you."  
  
Harry shook his head. "But it's still wrong. Killing is wrong."  
  
"That's the beauty of it, Harry. We aren't mortal. We don't play by mortals' rules. We can kill. We kill mortals every day." Lily smirked from where she had Dumbledore in a death grip. Ginny's eyes widened, and Draco looked slightly sick.  
  
"Then how does that make us any different than Clautius? We aren't God. God decides that stuff, not us." Gaila and Olivia watched, stunned, as Harry tried to talk his parents out of killing the man who had sent him to live in that hell hole.  
  
"WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM???" Gaila asked Harry angrily  
  
He blinked. "What do you mean? I thought Alanna wanted you to calm them down. I thought you'd be backing me up, not disagreeing with me."  
  
"No, why the fuck ARE YOU calming them down? Why don't you want him to die like your parents?" Olivia asked sensibly.  
  
"Oh. Well, um, my whole magical life I've been told that I'm going to kill Voldemort. That's the only reason I exist, to save everyone's asses. I'm tired of all the killing. It's boring. Besides, he's already lost so much. He isn't in control, and he no longer has me under his thumb. I'm not 'Gryffindor's Golden Boy' any more. He is insignificant and not worth killing."  
  
Dumbledore opened his eyes and stared sorrowfully at his former Golden Boy. "You really think that of me?" he rasped.  
  
Harry nodded, face stony. "I don't give a shit about anything you say, old man. Ever since Siri went through the veil, I just don't care."  
  
Lily and James stared at him incredulously. "Siri went through WHAT VEIL?" they screeched.  
  
"The one in the Department of Mysteries. Do you know where it goes? Alanna thinks it might actually lead somewhere instead of him dying instantly like everyone else thinks."  
  
Dumbledore stared at him, his face an unreadable mask. "You really believe everything she says?" he asked, finally.  
  
"Unlike some people around here, she's never lied to me. I've seen her mind, and everything is the truth."  
  
Dumbledore looked away, visibly stung. "Are you sure she isn't tricking you?"  
  
"Positive." Harry turned to face Gaila and Olivia. "Is what my parents say true? Do we really have the power of life and death over mortals? Do we really get to decide all the time?"  
  
Gaila and Olivia looked at each other and put their heads together, whispering intently. After about two minutes of animated discussion, they turned back to Harry.  
  
"Yes and no. We decide on a small basis, like when to intervene or not. Also, most evil people that drop from coronaries or step in front of buses is our work. But, say we wanted to take out a planet. That we'd have to talk to Mom about. She doesn't like us ending whole races. It takes a while to restart." Olivia cracked her knuckles and Gaila played with her spiked bracelet and a black bandana she had tied around her wrist.  
  
"So, we do have that kind of power." Harry stated calmly, trying to believe what he was hearing. Ginny and Draco stared back and forth between them, not liking where the conversation was going.  
  
"Of course. We are in charge of our quadrants. What we say goes." Gaila assured him happily.  
  
Harry's jaw dropped. "I don't want that kind of responsibility! I have too much as it is!" He started to pace in midair. Lily wrapped her arms around him and he rested his head on her shoulder.  
  
*Mum, please don't kill him. Everyone would see us as the enemy and might join Voldemort and Clautius. That's the real reason I don't want him dead. He has all the good guys on his side.*  
  
*How about we take all his supporters from him, and then kill him?* she asked in all seriousness.  
  
*How about he dies in the final battle?* Harry countered, warming slightly to the idea of the idiotic, old coot's death.  
  
*Deal. James, we wait until the final battle and let him die there.*  
  
James pouted. *But I want the asshole dead now!*  
  
Harry frowned. *We can't. Please, Dad, let this one go.*  
  
*Okay, okay. Fine. We wait. But, I want to see him die.*  
  
*Damn, Dad, no one ever told me you were this blood thirsty!* Draco and Ginny started to laugh, startling the ancient Headmaster. Dumbledore stood in midair, massaging his neck.  
  
"Get this straight, you decrepit, old coot. You are not to come near my son again. He is no longer a part of your stupid little games. He is one half of the most powerful soul mate bond in all of Heaven. Not even Clautius and Mother have a bond this strong," Lily hissed at him, her face still contorted in rage.  
  
Harry and Draco looked at each other in fascination. *Most powerful? What does that mean?* they asked each other.  
  
*It means, little brother, that you have a shot in Hell of kicking Clautius's ass and bringing him home to Mother,* Olivia informed him.  
  
*Oh.*  
  
They watched as Lily hung Dumbledore up by his robes on the steeple of Gryffindor Tower. "I'd like to see you get out of this one, old man." With that, they all apparated back into the deserted Great Hall.  
  
"So, Harry, how has your summer been? And all your summers? What have you done?" Lily asked as they all sat around the Slytherin Table.  
  
"Well, I flew to Malfoy Manor six weeks ago to rescue him from Voldemort while carrying his pet cobra which had come to give me directions. We wound up here in the Hospital Wing. I still don't know exactly how that happened. But, that's how we met Alanna and Xander." Harry paused to take a breath.  
  
"So, you FLEW? On your BROOM?" James asked, disapprovingly.  
  
"I had a bite happy cobra wrapped around my body and I can't drive, and as of six weeks ago, I couldn't Apparate. Flying was really the only way to go. Dobby?" Harry asked the empty air. Dobby appeared instantly.  
  
"Yes, Harry Potter? What is it you want?" The House Elf turned and saw James and Lily. His eyes grew wide as saucers. "Mister James! Mrs. Lily! You are here! How is you doing?"  
  
"We are fine, Dobby" Lilly smiled at him.  
  
"Dobby, could you bring us dinner, please?" Harry asked politely. Dobby nodded happily and waved his hand. Several platters appeared before them and they happily filled their plates. Dobby bowed and disappeared.  
  
"All right, I can understand your need to put yourself in mortal danger. You two are soul mates," James said sourly. Lily glared at him from across the table.  
  
"Actually, until all this happened, we really disliked each other. He got me kicked out of Quidditch, and we turned him and his thugs into giant, oozing slugs with tentacles." James gaped at him.  
  
"So, why did you help him?" he asked incredulously.  
  
Harry shrugged. "It was the right thing to do." He chewed and swallowed a mouthful of food.  
  
They finished dinner quickly and everyone except for Gaila, Ginny and Olivia, who went up to Gryffindor Tower, moved their discussion to Severus's quarters in the Dungeon. They talked for hours, catching up. It was well after midnight when Harry started yawning.  
  
"Harry, I'll walk you up to the Tower," James offered. He stood up, but Draco held up a hand.  
  
"Actually, he's been in the Slytherin Dorms pretty much since we got here. We have nightmares almost every night and it helps to be close to one another," Draco said quietly. He stifled a yawn. "Uncle Sev, it's time for us to get to sleep." He stood and pulled a very sleepy Harry to his feet. Lily and James stood up, too tired to protest their son's living arrangements.  
  
"Lily, there is another set of quarters right down the hallway, if you two want to have private rooms. I don't think you want to be traumatizing the little ones, do you?" Sev asked, a slight smile on his face.  
  
Lily smirked. "Sev, darling brother of mine, what makes you think we'd want to do anything different?" Severus had visions of McGonagall obliviating students night after night after accidentally walking in on the two. He shook his head.  
  
"No, you get your own quarters right next to the Slytherin Dorms so you can be close to your son. James, do try not to traumatize my students with your Gryffindorness. They can be quite fragile." Smirking, Severus led a fuming James and an annoyed Lily to their new quarters.  
  
Lily and James summoned their trunks and quickly settled in, quite pleased with the arrangements.  
  
"You know, Lily," James conversationally spoke after Severus had left. "We haven't been corporal in a LONG time."  
  
Grinning, they made up for fifteen years.  
  
  
  
Draco walked slowly to the Slytherin Dorms, Harry almost fast asleep in his arms. Severus walked beside them, making sure the already tired Slytherin didn't drop Harry or crash into a wall. They quietly said the password they had been using, only to find that someone had changed it.  
  
"DAMN!" swore Severus viscously. Harry opened his eyes and stared in confusion at the wall.  
  
"Why won't it open?" he asked, half asleep.  
  
Draco tightened his grip on him. "Because the password has been changed."  
  
"Oh. Put me down then." Draco gently set him on his feet, and he wobbled over tot he wall. He stared at a brick at eye level. There was a serpent carved into that brick.  
  
"OPEN" Harry hissed in Parseltongue. Draco and Severus stared at him in shock as the wall slid open, revealing the still busy Common Room.  
  
"Of course!" Draco exclaimed and led Harry inside. The commotion in the Common Room stopped and everyone turned to stare at them.  
  
"Draco, what is HE doing here?" sneered Pansy, who had moved into plain view from where she had been sitting on the couch.  
  
"To make an extremely long and boring story short, he's staying down here. He has been all summer. Anyone who has a problem with that can shut up." Blaise stepped forward, answering Pansy for Draco. He walked over and took Harry from Draco. "Draco, sit down before you fall over. You look like shit."  
  
"Actually, Mr. Zambini," Blaise morphed into a girl. "Would you stop doing that? As I was saying, they need to get into bed. Who has the third bed in their dorm room?"  
  
A boy named Eric McKnight poked his head up. "I do, sir. Is that Potter's trunk in there in the other bed?"  
  
"Yes, Eric, it is. He has been here all summer, and I do not wish to move my nephew. He has been through enough as it is." Everyone's eyes widened at that proclamation.  
  
"Um, sir? Since when has Potter been your nephew?" Eric asked. There were nods around the room.  
  
"Since his mother and I bound our blood in a ritual in our fourth year." Severus answered simply.  
  
"Then why did you hate him?" Theodore Nott asked, a crafty smile on his face.  
  
*Oh boy, we have to watch that one.* "Since when do I have to explain myself to you?" Severus asked, his temper rising.  
  
Nott stared him directly in the eye. Severus almost missed the slight movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned, just in time, as Pansy drew her wand.  
  
"Diffundo!" she snapped, and a pale light sped towards Harry and Draco. They turned, and their auras flared to life, swallowing the curse. Harry waved a hand, and Pansy' face was transformed into a Pug's features. She let out a high pitched, yipping scream.  
  
Ginny ran into the Slytherin Dorms, hissing "Open" to the wall before dashing inside. Pansy's back was to her, and suddenly the dog- girl yelped, her hands rushing to her backside. Ginny grinned evilly and strode over to her brothers. No one noticed that her black painted nails had actually become claws, and that her eyes had an eerie red glow to them. She grabbed Harry under the arms and lifted him, carrying him to his dorms.  
  
"Ginny, lemme down," he protested feebly, already almost asleep. Draco followed them up and made sure Harry was safely tucked in before he and Ginny ran back to the Common Room.  
  
They found it in an uproar. Nott had tried to use Crucio and Imperio on Snape, who had easily blocked the curses. Nott was now lying on the ground, bound hand and foot. His sleeve had been pushed up to reveal the Dark Mark, hastily covered with Muggle Makeup. Pansy was still sobbing in a corner over her canine features and boil laden ass. Her sleeves had been pushed up, revealing her own Dark Mark. Draco quickly stunned her and bound her as well.  
  
Severus levitated Nott through the opening in the wall. Another sixth year levitated Pansy, the only two of them stupid enough to want the Dark Mark. Severus led the way down the hall. *Draco, please tell them something. I have to take them to Dumbledore. I wonder if he made his way down from the Tower yet?* Draco sniggered.  
  
"Ok, people gather around. Now that the traitors have left, there are some things you need to know." Everyone sat down on couches, chairs, footstools and the floor. "First, Harry Potter is living in our dorms from now on, no complaints. Second, Ginny, and Potter are off limits. Leave them alone." Draco recapped the events of the summer, leaving nothing out, including the abuse Harry had suffered at the hands of his uncle. By the time he was finished, there wasn't a dry eye in the room, himself included.  
  
"So Potter really isn't a goody-goody like the rest of them?" a third year asked.  
  
"Ginny snorted. "Hey," she called back, good-naturedly. "I resemble that remark!" Several people laughed.  
  
"Too much has happened to him in order for him to be considered a goody-goody. He's gonna take a lot of flak from his house about this. He doesn't need any more from us, understood?"  
  
The new transfer student, Emily George, raised her hand. Spike bracelets gleamed against her wrists "I don't get it. Why the pow wow? Maybe it's because at my old school we didn't have houses, so none of us had this kind of rivalry. It seems kind of silly. We are all students, and we, except for those two losers, are on the side. What's the point? Why can't we just get along?" Everyone stared at her, incredulous.  
  
"What do you mean, no houses? How did you do your dormitories?" Blaise asked.  
  
"Well, I came from Southern California School of Magic. We had three thousand students per grade, seven grades." Everyone's jaws dropped. "And we were considered a small school. Salem University has ten thousand students per grade. My dad's U.S. Military, Navy SEALS, and we were transferred here. But, we didn't have houses. There was a girl's wing and a boy's wing. The dorms were seven stories above ground with four underground."  
  
"So no one was separated out?" Eric asked, his eyes traveling up and down her body, taking in her tight black tee shirt and dark blue jeans. Draco saw his gaze and laughed quietly to himself.  
  
*What?* came a foreign voice in his head. *What's so funny?* Draco stared in shock as Emily met his gaze, a confused expression on her face. *I know you can hear me, damn it. What's so fucking funny?*  
  
*Easy, Em. Eric just has never really shown an interest in girls before. We thought he was gay.* Ginny answered her. Emily stared at her.  
  
*You aren't human, are you?* Ginny raised her eyebrows in surprise.  
  
*Damn, you're good.* Draco drawled, settling back in his chair. *How'd you tell?*  
  
*Demigoddess in the family. Alanna's little sister Rowan is my Great Aunt. I have the knack for telling who is human and who isn't.*  
  
*What else can you do?* Ginny asked curiously.  
  
*Fire and mind. You?*  
  
*Fire and mind as well, plus demon.* Ginny answered casually.  
  
*That would explain the glowing eyes and black claws. Have you had your first transformation yet?*  
  
*No, not yet.* Ginny sighed then kissed Draco on the cheek. "Bro, I'm going to bed. I'm exhausted." Everyone watched, awestruck, as she disappeared from sight.  
  
"She better not have splinched herself." Draco groused and went upstairs. He crawled into bed after checking to make sure Harry was asleep. He was asleep as soon as his head touched his pillow.  
  
  
  
The next day, at promptly seven o'clock, Harry and Draco were awakened by an incredibly chipper Alanna.  
  
"Go-way" mutter Harry, pulling the pillow over his head. Lily and James waltzed into the room, also awake, and cheerfully pulled the covers off their son.  
  
"I- AARGH!" growled Harry as he sat up. Severus walked in as well.  
  
"Harry, Draco, you are being excused from classes today. We need your help. We have to sort fourth years and up for any sign of Elemental ability and it's going to take all day. We have to get started in an hour, so get ready and grab some breakfast. Lily and James will help as well. We need to meet back in the Room of Requirement at exactly eight o'clock," Alanna chirped, a maniacal grin on her face.  
  
Draco got up and headed for the bathroom. *POTTER, WAKE THE FUCK UP!* Groaning, Harry followed him into the bathroom.  
  
Exactly twenty minutes later, Harry and Draco made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. The Gryffindors looked at Harry suspiciously as he sat down. "Morning, everyone," he casually stated as he reached for a piece of toast.  
  
"Harry, mate, where were you last night? Why isn't your stuff in our dorm?" Seamus asked, glaring at him.  
  
"Didn't anyone tell you? Ron and Hermione knew where I was. I was in the Slytherin Dorms. I sleep there now." Harry ate his toast, mindful of the fact that everyone was starting at him with a mixture of disgust and anger.  
  
"What do you mean, you sleep there now?" Seamus asked, angrily spearing a sausage with his fork.  
  
"Why do you sleep with the snakes?" Lavender asked, sneering at the thought.  
  
"Maybe because his uncle and parents are down there?" Ginny asked sarcastically, resting her forearms on Harry's shoulders. "Do you have a problem with that?" she asked, this time deadly serious. Seamus caught the look on her face and he shook his head.  
  
"No, I guess I don't. I just don't understand why."  
  
Harry rested his forehead on his hands." I found a cure for my bad dreams, but it's down there. I'd rather not have any nightmares and wake you guys up with my screaming." Seamus nodded, accepting the explanation.  
  
Harry looked at his watch. "Oh shit! DRACO! WE GOTTA LEAVE!" he called across the hall. Draco nodded and they stood up and left the room, ignoring the shocked gasps from three fourths of the hall. Once they were out of the hall, they apparated to the Room of Requirement, making it there at exactly 7:57.  
  
  
  
True to their word, Alanna and Xander made Harry and Draco test every student from fourth year on up. By the end of the day, they had a list of nineteen names, not counting any demigods or demigoddesses. Surprisingly, they had a lot of double elementals. Harry sighed as he turned in their list to Alanna.  
  
Emily George- fire, mind  
  
Eric McKnight- water, mind  
  
Ginny Weaseley- fire, mind, demon  
  
Dean Thomas- water  
  
Vincent Crabbe- earth  
  
Gregory Goyle- earth  
  
Millicent Bulstrude- water, air  
  
Blaise Zambini- earth  
  
Seamus Finnigan- air  
  
Hannah Abbot- water, air, mind  
  
Ronald Weaseley- water  
  
Hermione Granger- fire  
  
Dudley Dursley- fire  
  
Neville Longbottom- earth, mind  
  
Luna Lovegood- air, mind  
  
Susan Bones- mind  
  
Maxine Romero- mind  
  
Michael Corner- air, earth  
  
Cho Chang- earth, fire  
  
Harry and Draco left the room with Lily and James and they headed down to dinner. As they walked to the staircase, they sat Professor Flitwick dragging Marianna Zambini by her ear up the stairs.  
  
"Professor Flitwick, what's the matter. Marianna, what's going on?" Harry and Draco asked in unison.  
  
"This little devil flooded MY CLASSROOM!" yelled Flitwick angrily. Harry's eyes widened. "I can't do anything with her! Her wand backfired in class and she turned a fellow student into a purple fish! Then she somehow managed to stun me and make a cascade of water flood the room! I have four feet of lake water that I have to clean up! You deal with her!" Flitwick thrust the poor, terrified girl at Harry. The tiny professor spun around and rushed back down the stairs.  
  
"Marianna, come on. I think Alanna would like to talk to you." Draco led the now sobbing girl into the Room of Requirement. Alanna was just packing up to go to dinner when Draco guided Marianna into the room.  
  
"What's going on, Draco?" she asked, looking them up and down.  
  
"Test her. Her powers are so strong she's out of control." Marianna gave a loud sniff and water flowed from her hands, creating a waterfall. Alanna stared at her, concerned.  
  
"Oh, little one, it's all right. Come here." Marianna sat on her lap, and the water stopped flowing. Alanna rocked her to sleep, softly singing. Blaise came running into the room.  
  
"Is she all right?" she panted. "I heard she caused a flood, and I came as fast as I could." Alanna shushed the older girl.  
  
"How long has she been able to do this?" the demigoddess asked.  
  
"Since she was a few months old. She could even swim before she could walk. But she's never gushed water like that before."  
  
"Blaise, your sister cannot use a wand. That is what brought this on. I will train her personally in wandless magic, but her wand malfunctions whenever she uses it. I don't know how well she will function in class. They are based around wands, and well, you know." Blaise nodded and scooped her sister lovingly into her arms.  
  
"What should I tell her?"  
  
"Tell her that she will train with me every day instead of going to classes for the next week. She will be responsible for the class work she misses in the other classes, but it won't be difficult. We will be covering the same things in our sessions, but without the use of a wand." Blaise nodded and left, carrying her sister.  
  
"Oh damn, first a demon, then runaway powers." Draco said lightly. Alanna glared at him.  
  
"Those aren't runaway powers. She's a water nymph."  
  
"WHAT?" Draco screeched, whipping around.  
  
Severus came walking into the room. Draco, I just came in to tell you- " he broke off suddenly, seeing his Godson and Nephew's faces. "What?"  
  
"We have a water nymph here. Marianna Zambini."  
  
"You have got to be joking." Severus stared at them in consternation. "Great! First demons, now nymphs."  
  
Ginny appeared in the doorway. "You called?" she asked. "Uncle Sev, I have a request."  
  
"Yes, Ginny?"  
  
"I just tested out of my Charms, DADA, Transfiguration, and History of Magic classes. Can I take Experimental Potions?"  
  
Harry and Draco joined the plea. "Uncle Sev, we will test out of all those classes. Could we join too? Please?"  
  
"I don't see why not. You will most definitely have free time available. Plus, I only have four students, one being your mother, Harry. In fact, that was what I was going to tell you all."  
  
"WhooHOO!" yelled Harry as they apparated back to the dorms.  
  
  
  
A/N: Well, it's 12:50 AM, and I'm finally finished. Hope you liked it. 


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: I don't know if people skip A/Ns or what, but I did tell everyone that there wouldn't be any Draco/Harry action... at least not in this book too much. Maybe some light stuff, but Harry's a frigging rape victim for Christ's sake. I don't think he's gonna want to do that.  
  
Plus, to the nice person who told me to stop giving everyone powers: THEY ARE GOING AGAINST THE POWERS OF HELL!!! Seriously, there are going to be around 200 billion demons they will have to face... they need all the power they can get. Harry and Draco are still the most powerful demigods in creation, but their full powers aren't there yet..... Also, they all had these powers already but no one knew to test for them or something like that, at least that's the premises I have going.  
  
Also, I had to change chapter 12 a bit. I had forgotten that Harry used the diary to free Dobby, so I had to change that whole thing around. Reread chapter 12, because it explains how Ginny got her powers.  
  
  
  
Chapter 14  
  
The next morning, Tuesday, Harry and Draco strode out of the Slytherin Dorms, followed by Blaise, Emily, Eric, Crabbe, and Goyle. Severus caught up to them as they filed into the Great Hall for breakfast.  
  
"Harry, Draco, here are your schedules. You have the same classes. I'll see you in Potions in half an hour. Oh, and you'll be pleased to know that Pansy and Theodore have been expelled and arrested. Their trial is in a week." Severus handed them their schedules. They both had four ninety minute classes for the day: Potions, followed by DADA, an hour break for lunch, and then Runes and History of Magic. On Mondays and Wednesdays they had Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, Spellwriting, and Charms. Fridays, they had all classes.  
  
"Thank you, Professor Snape," Harry said quietly as they walked through the doors to the Great Hall. Harry started to walk over to the Gryffindor table.  
  
"Harry, get Ginny and sit with us," Draco urged.  
  
"Yeah, Harry, sit with your friends." To his surprise it was Emily who had spoke up that time. Grinning slightly, he walked over to the Gryffindor table and pulled Ginny up. To his surprise, Neville, Dean and Seamus followed. Luna stood from her table and walked over. Together, they strode to the Slytherin Tables and made themselves at home. Whispers broke out at every table.  
  
Draco stared at the group of Gryffindors and the lone Ravenclaw that suddenly populated the table. "Harry, I told you to bring Ginny. Why did everyone else decide to join us?"  
  
Seamus spoke up from his seat next to Blaise. "We protect our own, Malfoy. Harry's one of us, and so is Ginny. Besides, what's the big deal?" he asked, challenging the others.  
  
"Nothing. I'm just surprised that you would lower yourself to sit with us. You Gryffindors have that annoying reputation of having the high road of morals. We're all 'dark wizards'. I thought you would avoid us at all cost." Draco took a bite of egg and drank his pumpkin juice, wishing, not for the first time, that it was alcoholic.  
  
Harry grinned impishly. When Draco took the next swig, he choked. Ogden's Firewhiskey burned down the back of his throat. "Potter, what the hell did you do to my drink?" he growled, coughing.  
  
Everyone stared at Harry as his grin widened. "You wanted something alcoholic, so alcohol is what you got."  
  
"Yes, but 180 proof Firewhiskey?" Seamus's eyes widened in shock.  
  
He thrust the drink to Harry. "Gimme! Now!" Laughing, Harry complied. Seamus took a long swig and gasped happily. "Oh, that hits the spot." He swayed a little in his seat.  
  
"That better not be alcoholic, Mr. Finnigan, especially since you have my class next." Gulping, Seamus looked up into the impassive face of Professor Snape.  
  
"No, Sir, it's just pumpkin juice. See?" Seamus held up his glass, hoping that Harry would get the hint and change it back. Severus lifted the glass and sniffed it suspiciously. When he didn't smell alcohol, he took a cautious sip. He tasted pumpkin juice.  
  
Glaring, he put the glass back down. "I could have sworn..." he trailed off. Harry buried his face in his arms, shaking with repressed laughter. "POTTER! EXPLAIN YOURSELF!"  
  
Harry sat up, still giggling. Draco kicked him under the table. "It's Malfoy," he sputtered. "Malfoy has the whiskey."  
  
"POTTER!" Draco yelled, outraged. Laughs broke out from around the hall. "You're the one who turned it, so what the hell are you tattling for? Quit blaming me!" Severus stared back and forth as the two of them started mock fighting.  
  
Harry suddenly found himself hanging upside down, and Draco's clothes were transfigured into Teletubbies pajamas. Cursing loudly, they fixed themselves before continuing.  
  
"Potter, you bastard! Let me down!" Draco screeched as Harry held him in a headlock ten feet above the table. Everyone gasped, shocked that they were in midair without the use of wands or spells for that matter.  
  
"Dipshit, my parents WERE married! Don't believe me? Ask them!" Harry yelled back, trying to erase the foot high, flaming words "Draco's BITCH" that were scrolled on the back of his robes. Giving up, he stripped out of them, revealing a silver mesh shirt and leather pants underneath. He let go of Draco to remove the arms, and the other boy tackled him. Everyone in the Hall was laughing and cheering. Seamus had a pool going on who would win.  
  
Severus sighed and rose from the floor. He pulled the two of them apart. "What am I going to do with you two?" He asked wearily. The Hall went deathly silent as everyone strained to hear him. "I don't know which was worse: you two as enemies, fighting, or you two as best friends, play fighting. This is ridiculous. You are both sixteen. Act your age." Chastised, the two demigods sank back to the ground, pouting.  
  
They glared at the Potions Master, hurt. "Don't look at me like that. Harry, what would your parents say?" Teenage versions of Lily and James stood from the corner where they had been watching with great interest.  
  
"We would say, as people who have both pulled serious pranking, WAY TO GO! I liked the Teletubbies. Nice touch. Now put your robes back on." Lily ordered, a smirk on her face.  
  
"Mum, I kind of can't. Draco wrote something on it and I can't get it to come off." Harry handed her the robe. James stared at the flaming words and held his sides, laughing hysterically. Lily stared at it, grinning.  
  
"I dunno, Sev, you think we should make them wear their messed up clothing all day as punishment for disrupting breakfast?" Draco's clothes turned back into Teletubbies pajamas. The two of them stared in horror as Lily put the robe back on her mortified son.  
  
Severus and his sister smirked identically. "Now stay like that." Harry and Draco stared at each other and shrugged.  
  
"Oh well, what can you do?" Harry asked. "At least I don't have strange little creatures on my clothing." He glared at his mother and still rolling-on-the floor-laughing father. "Thanks a lot, you two. Aren't you NOT supposed to embarrass me?"  
  
"Actually, embarrassing you is our job," gasped James. Lily elbowed him.  
  
"Shh, you dumbass. Don't tell him that. We can't get away with it now!" Lily and James looked at their son, smirks on their faces. Harry sighed.  
  
"Come on, everyone, NEWTS Potions is up. We have to go." Harry picked up his books and headed for the Dungeons. Draco, Emily, Hermione, Eric, Seamus, Dean, Blaise, several Ravenclaws and two Hufflepuffs followed him out of the Hall.  
  
Lily turned to Severus. "You mind if I come along? I don't have anything to do, and James is going to help Remus teach." Severus nodded. "Great! Oh, this will be so much fun!" Lily walked out of the Great Hall with Severus.  
  
  
  
"Good morning, class. I trust you all belong here? Good. Now then this class has two rules, which make it different from any other Potions class you have had with me. First, you must maintain at least an Exceeds Expectations for your grade. If you do not, you will have two weeks to regain your grade or you will be asked to join another class. Second, whoever explodes a cauldron will be forcibly removed from the class without being able to return. Do I make myself clear?" Severus asked the assembled students. Everyone nodded. His sister smirked in the corner.  
  
"Excellent. This is a fast paced class. You will work individually on your potions, and please feel free to ask questions. We will start a new potion every day, and they are very complex. However, if I did not think you could handle it, you would not be here. Open your books to page fourteen, Veritaserum. The ingredients are in the storeroom. Begin." Severus sat back and watched as everyone started to work. *Now that is what I like to see,* he thought, proudly watching as they diligently began their potions.  
  
By the end of the class, nearly everyone had a perfect cauldron. Seamus had points docked for, after turning his sample in, having Harry turn the rest to rum. Harry grinned as Severus had Seamus drink most of the liter sized cauldron in punishment, then sobering him, hangover included.  
  
"For next class, I want five inches on the properties of Veritaserum and how the potion is used. Personal experience is unnecessary. I do not wish to hear about Dementor's Kiss (1), Magical Truth or Dare, or any other sick games you play. Mr. Potter, please stay after a minute." Everyone but Harry and Draco left.  
  
"Mr. Potter, why did you transform the Veritaserum into Rum?" he asked in exasperation. "Why are you supporting your fellow students in their alcoholism?"  
  
*Because he's a fun drunk?* Harry replied while looking sheepishly at the floor.  
  
*Harry, that really isn't funny... hell, it is...* Sev laughed mentally.  
  
*Anyway, Drac, Harry, get out of your last class on the Monday- Wednesday schedule. That's the experimental Potions class and you will be allowed to work in groups of three. As I recall, Ginny needs two partners.* Harry and Draco nodded and ran out the door.  
  
  
  
During the first few minutes of DADA, Harry and Draco easily tested out of ever having to take that class again. Remus threw every spell he could think of at them, to no avail. James stood in the front, laughing, as Harry simply blocked one spell after another with his aura, not even bothering to dodge. With Draco, it was the same thing. He stood there with his arms crossed, before simply freezing the exasperated werewolf.  
  
"Fine, you made your point. I swear, James, they are both so strong! They're stronger than you and Lily! This is ridiculous. I can't teach them anything! Go on, you two! Get out of here!" Harry and Draco happily complied.  
  
They wandered onto the Quidditch Pitch, brooms in hand. They quickly stripped off their robes and kicked off the ground. Harry summoned a Snitch, and they were off, looping and diving over a half mile in the air.  
  
  
  
Harry and Draco staggered back into the Great Hall for Lunch, laughing wildly, their brooms tucked under their arms. Ginny walked over to them. "You two went flying and didn't tell me! I had a free period and I really would have liked to join you!" Sighing, she sat with them at the Slytherin Table. Neville, Dean and Seamus joined them. Luna walked into the Hall and sat with them as well next to Ginny.  
  
"Afternoon, all. What's up?" Emily asked, sitting next to Eric. Eric spent the next thirty minutes staring at her dreamily.  
  
"Not much, Emily. How were your classes?" Ginny asked, snagging a sandwich.  
  
"Boring, as usual. It's not my fault I know all that stuff already." She groaned, resting her head on the table. "Auntie Rowan already showed me all the stuff I'll ever need to know about Transfiguration."  
  
"So test out of it. I did, and I'll never have to take another transfiguration class in my life. I'll just have to take the OWLS and NEWTS for them when the time comes."  
  
"Hey, that might just work. Besides, I have Charms where that Experimental Potions class should be. I can test out of that too, right?"  
  
"Yeah." Harry and Draco listened with interest.  
  
"So, I can get rid of Transfiguration. Charms, and History of Magic as well as the DADA class I just dropped?" Harry asked quietly. Ginny nodded. "Sweet. That'll really be nice. We'll have only five classes. Six, if you count helping Alanna and Xander in their Wandless and Elemental Magic class. When is that, anyway?"  
  
"It's the last class today. You two better show up." Alanna stood behind them, listening to their conversation. Harry grinned at her.  
  
"So, Professor, you really need us to show up and help?" He smirked.  
  
"Knock off the Professor bullshit. It's just ALANNA. And, yes, I do need help. We have nineteen students and very little time." Harry's smirk vanished. He nodded soberly, remembering why they had to train in the first place.  
  
"Sure, Alanna. But, first we have to test out of History of Magic. I think that'll be easy, considering that we have your memories." Harry took a bite of his sandwich. Alanna nudged him in the ribs.  
  
"Hey, move over." Harry scooted over and she sat down next to him. Xander walked into the Great Hall, accompanied by Lily and Severus. They walked over to the Slytherin Table and sat down as well. James and Remus saw them and, sighing, walked from the Teachers' Table over to sit with them.  
  
Everyone took that as a sign to exchange tables. In three minutes flat, there were no exclusively Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Gryffindor Tables. A group of Hufflepuffs sat at the end of the Gryffindor Table, chatting with several Ravenclaws and Gryffindors. Three Ravenclaw first years sat at the Slytherin Table around Veronica and Crystal Malfoy. Susan Bones, Hanna Abbot, and Ernie McMillan came over to talk to Ron and Hermione. The professors stared at the students in shock. Harry looked around him and started to laugh.  
  
"I think we started a trend," he remarked to no one in particular. James looked around as well.  
  
"Yep, I'd say we did. I wonder how badly Dumbledore is going to freak." Still laughing, they finished their lunches as the teachers just stared, completely confused at the sudden lack of House rivalry.  
  
  
  
Harry and Draco walked quickly to their Ancient Runes class. *You are going to help me, right?* Harry asked Draco, a hint of doubt creeping into his thoughts as they took their seats.  
  
Draco snorted, looking ridiculous in his Teletubbies pajamas. *You're the one who got me wearing these stupid PJs. I dunno, maybe I won't help you...* he trailed off, enjoying the look of slight panic that crossed Harry's features as the instructor, Professor Vector, handed them a paragraph to translate.  
  
*Hey, I'm the one with the derogatory comment on my robes. You did that, so we're even. Now, what the hell do these Runes mean?* sighing, Draco explained each Rune. Harry nodded, and quickly translated the paragraph.  
  
Draco blinked in surprise. *Damn, that was quick. How did you do that?*  
  
*I don't know. I've always been able to do that. It just clicks in my mind what the Rune or Kanji, or whatever means, and I read it.* Harry took out his book and idly read the first chapter, translating the English parts into Runes.  
  
Draco stared at him the entire class period in awe. *God, no wonder you have a hard time in Potions. Forget the idea of ADHD; your mind just works too fast.* He remarked as they packed their bags.  
  
Harry shrugged. *Well, it's a good thing I have you permanently lodged in my brain then. You force me to slow down a little.* They silently walked out of class and headed to History of Magic.  
  
They sat down in the front of the classroom two minutes later. As everyone else filed in, Professor Binns floated out of the wall and hovered in front of the class.  
  
"Good afternoon, class. Take your seats and please pull out your textbooks. The Goblin Insurrection..." Professor Binns droned on, his back to the class. Harry felt himself slipping into the familiar daze that the ghost teacher's monotonous voice always put him into.  
  
Suddenly, Harry and Draco sat upright. *What did he just say? When did he say the First Goblin Insurrection was?* they asked each other.  
  
"Professor Binns, when did you say the first Goblin Insurrection was?" Harry asked, startling the ghost from his lecture.  
  
"Wha- 1386, why?" The ghost stared at Harry.  
  
"I think that's wrong, sir. There was one before that, in 1245 and it lasted for forty years. The next one was in 1305. The third one was in 1386, and it was actually a mixture of Goblins and Trolls." Harry stopped talking, sheepishly looking around. Hermione stared at him incredulously.  
  
"What do you mean, Mr. Potter? There were no wars in that time. Whatever are you talking about?" Draco raised his hand.  
  
"Professor, we were telepathically bonded to Alanna. We have her memories in our head, and she was alive at that time. She remembers it happening," Draco explained reasonably, as if it were completely normal to remember the entire history of the world. Professor Binns stared at them.  
  
"Could you please go get her?" Binns asked finally.  
  
Draco and Harry nodded. *Alanna,* they called.  
  
*Could you two get here soon, please? We do need help.* Alanna called back.  
  
*We are trying to get out of this class, but Binns wants proof about the Goblin Insurrections.*  
  
*Fine, I'm coming.* With a huff, Alanna apparated into the classroom, startling everyone in the room.  
  
Professor Binns stared at her. "So, Alanna, when was the first Goblin Insurrection?"  
  
"1245, why?" Alanna crossed her arms over her chest.  
  
"Why isn't that in the text?" the ghost countered.  
  
"Because the text is wrong. Here, let me show you." Alana extended her hand and a silvery circle appeared and hovered in the center of the room. The circle suddenly started to glow, and images appeared. The entire class watched, fascinated, as they saw Diagon Alley as the scene of a bloody battle. The stared, horrified, at the image of wizards pitching themselves against Goblins. They saw countless people fall, bloody and obviously dead, disappearing from the circle.  
  
"That was 1245. It ended in 1281. The next one," the screen cleared and another battle scene emerged. This time, Hogwarts was in the background as witches and wizards attacked a joined force of Goblins and Trolls. The Goblins and Trolls were driven back into the Forbidden Forest, "was in 1305. That lasted only two years."  
  
Professor Binns just stared at the images. He couldn't figure out how those battles could have been missed. *If they have all her memories, then they shouldn't be here...* "You two boys are excused." Harry and Draco quickly packed their books and apparated to the Room of Requirement, Alanna's classroom.  
  
"So, sis, what do you need us to do?" Harry asked cheekily as he surveyed the stunned students.  
  
"Hey, help with the wandless magic. Ginny, Neville, Luna, Blaise, Dean, Seamus, Eric and Emily, go with Harry and Draco. Everyone else, come over here." Harry sat down in the far corner of the room with Draco. Everyone she had called sat down in front of him in a circle.  
  
"So, Teach, what ya gonna do?" Emily asked with a grin.  
  
Harry sighed. "First I want to know if everyone can hear me." They stared at him, confused. *Can you hear me now?* he asked telepathically.  
  
Everyone stared at him in surprise. "Your- your mouth isn't moving," Seamus stuttered, impressed to say the least.  
  
"Right, it's telepathy." Draco drawled, sitting cross-legged on the floor.  
  
"Oh, right." Seamus said stupidly. They laughed.  
  
"Ok, first, I'm gonna link with all of you and let you feel how wandless magic is done. After that, you'll get to try. First year spells ONLY." Harry stretched out his hands and tied everyone's consciousness in with his own.  
  
  
  
The next day, Harry and Draco proved to Professors McGonagall and Flitwick that they would never need to attend a Transfiguration or Charms class again in their lives. Harry transfigured McGonagall's desk into a ten foot Phoenix which flew out the window, and she spent the next ten minutes chasing it. When she finally returned to the classroom empty handed, she found Draco had transfigured a teapot into a brand new desk for her.  
  
In Charms class, Harry levitated Flitwick. Draco suggested privately that they leave him hanging from the ceiling. Harry, after they had been excused from class, had to ask him whether or not he had been joking.  
  
The hurried to the Dungeons, where they found the Experimental Potions class in full swing. Emily, Eric, Ginny and Lily were already there, working on improving the healing potions Madam Pomfrey used in the Hospital Wing. Harry and Draco strode over to Ginny's table and dropped their books.  
  
*Hey, what do you have so far?* Harry asked her. She showed him absently what she had been working on.  
  
*I'm thinking that we can add more crushed scarab beetles for the potency.* Ginny started to measure out twice the regular amount of beetles and crush them.  
  
*The scarabs react with your stomach acid. If you add any more they'll make an acid strong enough to literally burn you from inside out,* Draco told her. She froze, about to add the beetles she had measured.  
  
Harry looked up from the list of ingredients. *So make it a topical application.* At Ginny and Draco's confused looks, he clarified. *A lotion or salve. Put it on their skin.*  
  
Ginny added the beetles. *Harry, that's brilliant! But, what do we use for the thickening substance?* They stirred in the rest of the ingredients over a period of about an hour.  
  
Severus walked over to them, checking on their progress. "You do realize that your potion will be lethal if ingested, right?" he asked, staring at their cauldron skeptically.  
  
"We are going to put it in salve form, sir. It was Harry's idea." Draco said in all seriousness.  
  
Severus blinked. "Excellent idea. What are you going to use to thicken it?" he asked. They all looked at Harry expectantly.  
  
"Ginny, do you have a bottle of lotion?" he asked, finally receiving inspiration. She pulled a bottle out of her bag.  
  
"Harry, I didn't know you were into Plumeria," she joked, handing it over. Harry rapidly scanned the back of the bottle.  
  
"Isopropyl Alcohol, Fragrance, Silicon- Silicon! That's it!" Harry concentrated and soon about four cups of a clear gel floated in midair. He carefully put a cup of the gel into a spare cauldron and took a cup of the potion. He carefully mixed the two together, forming a creamy, cerulean substance.  
  
Harry picked up a knife thoughtfully. *Now for the test,* he thought to himself. Biting his tongue in concentration, he sliced open his arm and reached into the cauldron for a handful of the salve.  
  
Severus turned back to watch their progress and his face turned a gray color. "Harry! NO!" He knocked the knife from Harry's hand and tried to staunch the flow of blood. "Why are you trying to kill yourself again?" he asked, almost frantic with worry.  
  
Lily looked up sharply. "WHAT?" she screamed and rushed over.  
  
Harry groaned in exasperation. "Hello, testing the salve here. Excuse me." He slopped the salve on his cut. It instantly healed without leaving a trace. He looked up from where he was seated into his mother and uncle's worried faces.  
  
"Harold James Potter, what did he mean by suicide again?" Lily asked, a lone tear tracking down her face.  
  
"Um, I had an episode earlier but I'm fine now and you don't need to worry?" Harry stared into her eyes hopefully. She hugged him tightly.  
  
"Don't even think about it. Promise me that. If you ever feel like it, get me immediately. That goes for you too, Draco. If either of you have a problem, come to me, James, or Sev immediately. Don't wait." Harry hugged his mom.  
  
"Mum, I have almost everything I ever wanted. Why would I want to leave, now that I have you back?" She let go of him and they grinned, identical expressions on their faces.  
  
"Now, our salve worked perfectly. See, no cut." Harry held up his arm. His mother saw the scars and raised her eyebrows but didn't say anything further.  
  
They all crowded around the cauldron. Harry added the rest of the silicon to the ultra healing potion and it solidified. The three creators cheered. Severus smiled, which was a rare sight. "Good job, you three." He turned to the others. "What have you come up with?"  
  
The other three walked back to their cauldron, explaining how their potion not only heals injuries, but increases blood and fluids in the body, fixing the common problem of dehydration for long term patients.  
  
  
  
The rest of the week passed quickly. On Friday night, Harry, Blaise and Draco planned a shopping trip to The Dungeon for the following afternoon. They sat in the Slytherin Common Room, talking animatedly. Emily and Eric sat down next to them.  
  
"Hey, where's this Dungeon you're talking about?" Emily asked, interested.  
  
"Muggle London. We went there for my birthday, and are going tomorrow. Want to come along?" Harry asked. They looked up as the entrance to the Slytherin Dorms opened. Ginny, Neville, Dean, Seamus, and Luna strode in.  
  
"I heard shopping," Ginny accused. Draco smirked.  
  
"Did you honestly think we'd forget about you? Come here." He held out his arms and she sat on his lap. Everyone else sat down as well. They proceeded to plan their shopping trip in Muggle London.  
  
  
  
The next day, at breakfast, Dumbledore stood up and addressed everyone. "I have an important announcement to make. First of all, Mr. Harry Potter, your ban on playing Quidditch has been lifted. You may play in the upcoming year." Everyone clapped politely. Dumbledore waited for everyone to quiet down then continued. "Second, there will be no House Quidditch Teams this year, as there will be no games." The entire Hall went silent. "Instead, one of our former students, Oliver Wood, has organized an International Quidditch League for the School level. Tryouts for the school team will be next Saturday. That is all." He sat back down to the excited whispers that circulated the Hall.  
  
"An INTERNATIONAL Quidditch League?" Ginny gasped, ecstatic. "That is so cool!  
  
Harry and Draco stared at each other. "Well, may the best seeker win," Harry said sadly. Draco looked glumly at his plate.  
  
"Yeah, I guess. Good luck, Potter."  
  
Ginny rolled her eyes. "So don't go out for Seeker! You two could play Beater or- how about Chaser, and I'll be the third. You don't need to play Seeker, you know." Harry and Draco looked at each other.  
  
Draco raised his eyebrows. "Why not? That's a great idea, Ginny. Considering that we are all bonded telepathically, why not Chaser? The three of us would get it for sure." They finished their breakfast and Severus, Harry, Draco, Neville, Luna, Ginny, Emily, Eric, Dean, Seamus, and Blaise met right outside the school gates. They walked into Hogsmeade and used the Floo in the Three Broomsticks.  
  
They each visited their bank accounts in Gringotts, then Severus, Draco, Ginny, and Harry tied their powers together.  
  
*Claudette,* Harry sent their Vampire Drow friend.  
  
*Harry! I haven't heard from you in several weeks! Have you thought about my offer any?* came the perky reply.  
  
*Sure, why not. Anyway, is anyone in your store? We would like to Apparate in.*  
  
*Nope, all clear.* With that, they apparated into The Dungeon, ready to do some serious shopping.  
  
  
  
Three hours later, they left the store laden with bags. Harry had bought a sweet set of daggers that Alanna had promised to help him learn how to use properly. Draco had bought more clothes, convinced that too much is never enough. Ginny had bought some more jewelry. Everyone else had completely revamped their wardrobes. Neville had pierced his ears several times, as had Luna. Emily already had five earrings in one ear and six in the other, so she bought more jewelry and clothes. Eric went wild, buying almost everything in sight, as did Seamus and Dean. Severus also bought a complete wardrobe, as well as picking up some shirts and a pair of leather pants for Lily.  
  
Claudette had had so much fun helping Blaise pick out clothing that he could wear as a guy, as well as clothing for when he became his female side. Harry also spent an hour designing clothing for Claudette's store, which she insisted on paying him for his time. He just asked that she give him store credit, to which she readily agreed.  
  
They Apparated directly back to school from The Dungeon, and somehow wound up in the Chamber of Secrets. Everyone except for Draco, Ginny, Harry and Severus stared in awe of their surroundings.  
  
"Um Harry, mate, where are we?" Neville asked curiously.  
  
"I'm really sorry, guys. We must have screwed up. We're in the Chamber of Secrets. Um, hello, do you want to go...never mind." Harry shut up as he watched the others explore the Chamber.  
  
"Hey, Harry, there're EGGS back here!" Luna yelled. Everyone sprinted over.  
  
"Oh SHIT!" Harry swore vehemently. Severus picked up one of the eggs, caressing the shell lovingly.  
  
"Oh wow, I've wanted a pet Basilisk since I was little and now I can raise one..." Severus trailed off, staring at the egg with something close to rapture on his face.  
  
*Um, Uncle Sev, you look like Hagrid does when he gets a particularly lethal creature to raise...* Harry trailed off, a little scared by the expression. Severus ignored him, still cradling the egg to his chest possessively.  
  
Harry sighed and quickly levitated the rest of the eggs. "If we're going to raise one, we might as well raise them all." Severus looked as if his birthday and Christmas has come early.  
  
Draco quickly grabbed one. "MINE!" he growled possessively. Harry stared at the four remaining eggs. A sudden noise behind him made him whip around.  
  
Neville had conjured several bean bag chairs and was sitting in one, looking extremely pleased with himself. Behind him, Selena had apparated into the Chamber and looked around, a scowl gracing her elfin features.  
  
"What have you done to my chamber?" she asked, stomping over to Harry and Severus. "Ohh, Princess had EGGS! Princess, come to Mommy!" She called, anxiously, looking around. "Where's Princess?"  
  
Harry scuffed his shoes. "Um, um, Voldemort took control of your snake and Ihadtokillit," he finished in a rush.  
  
"WHAT????" Selena shrieked. The walls rumbled and shook. "WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!" She transformed into Salazar, flames silhouetting him. Harry gulped, but stood his ground. "What do you mean, that piece of shit descendant of mine took control of my Princess??"  
  
"He killed a girl fifty years ago, and through his diary," Harry held up the book, "he took control of Ginny and stole her life force. He turned the snake on the school and tried to kill other students again." Salazar's face was twisted in rage.  
  
"So you fought a fifteen hundred year old Basilisk and had to kill her without using your powers because you didn't know about them. She can't disobey one of the Slytherin line, so she couldn't disobey him, and you didn't know to command her. Great. I swear I'm gonna kill that bastard." Salazar threw up his hands. "Oh, I want two eggs, male and female."  
  
"How do you tell them apart?" Harry asked, staring at the remaining four eggs in confusion. Salazar took them two at a time in his hands.  
  
"These two are male, the other two are female," he said, handing one egg back to Harry. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to put these eggs in storage. I want them for my realm back home. Harry, you need to rebreed the line and Severus, Draco, handle them with care." Salazar disapparated, eggs in hand.  
  
"Um, Harry, could we come down here to hang out whenever we want?" Emily asked from a plush beanbag chair. Harry looked around.  
  
"Actually, that isn't a bad idea. Sev, behind the Basilisk's mouth is an excellent place for a Potions Lab, and we could put in some pool tables..." He walked the perimeter of the room, visualizing.  
  
"What's pool?" asked Draco. Harry laughed, conjuring a pool table, balls, and a set of cues. Emily grabbed a cue, ready to play. Everyone crowded around to watch as she soundly kicked Harry's ass in a game of pool. She cleared the table in only two rounds.  
  
"Where'd you learn to play?" Harry asked, impressed.  
  
"Everyone plays in America. It's almost a national pastime." Emily chalked up her cue again and set it on the table. "Anyone for another game? I promise I'll go easy on you." One by one, everyone learned how to play.  
  
  
  
The next week went by, for Harry and Draco, quickly, considering that they only had five classes, plus helping to teach Wandless Magic. As an added bonus, Alanna had taught Ginny how to create those wonderful brooms, and now Ginny had a broom of her own. She, Harry and Draco spent their breaks in the air, learning how to completely coordinate strategies and attacks for Chaser. James also spent an hour going over the rules of the position with the three of them, and Harry and Draco, in turn, helped him to brush up on his Seeker skills.  
  
Friday afternoon, Harry and James, in the form of his fourth year self finally tested their seeking abilities against each other. Draco released the Snitch, and they were off. Draco and Ginny sat back and watched perhaps the two greatest fliers of all time go head to head. *DAMN* thought Draco in envy. *I KNOW I don't look like that in the air!*  
  
Harry and James sped through the sky, the elusive Snitch right in front of them. Faster and higher they raced both desperately trying to reach it before the other. They twisted and turned for almost a half an hour, in and out of the Quidditch stands, through the front half mile of the Forbidden Forest, around the school turrets, until in a last lunge of desperation, James caught the Snitch a millisecond before Harry's fingers closed around it.  
  
"AHA!" James shouted, triumphant. Harry sagged back into his broom, slowing down immediately.  
  
"You caught it only because you're lighter, Dad. I can't change form the way you can." *Damn 5'10" body and 150 lbs. That sucks,* Harry groused to himself.  
  
"True, but in Quidditch, every advantage counts. You just are too big to be a seeker. Even Draco is a bit too tall for the ideal player. Someone Ginny's size would be perfect for it because she is still so small," James explained reasonably as they leisurely flew back to the Pitch. They touched down and Draco and Ginny rushed over.  
  
Ginny saw that the Snitch was in James's hands. "Harry! That was so cool! You two have been chasing that damn thing for over a half an hour! James won, huh? Good job, Mr. Potter! Harry has only been beaten to the Snitch once since he started playing!"  
  
James stared at his son. "Only once and I beat you? Wow, you never said anything about that. How long have you been playing?"  
  
Harry scuffed his boots. "Since first year," he mumbled. James's mouth dropped in shock.  
  
"You're the youngest player in a century!" he yelled, dropping his broom. "How did that happen?"  
  
"You can thank Draco for that one. If he hadn't have swiped Neville's Remembrall and chucked it, McGonagall wouldn't have seen me catch it from a fifty foot dive." Harry answered.  
  
Draco scowled. "Yeah, and because of that, we haven't won the House Cup since then. It's been Gryffindor all six years." James stared at them and started to laugh.  
  
"You- got my- HAHA- son, your-Heehee- worst enemy, on – OH MY GOD-the Quidditch –Team? OH SHIT, that's a- ha-ha- good one." James wiped tears of laughter from his eyes. Draco scowled at him and, turning, walked back towards the Entrance Hall in a huff. Harry rolled his eyes at the mental swearing Draco was doing.  
  
"Come on, Dad, Ginny, let's go in." Harry, Ginny, and James slung their brooms over their shoulders and walked after Draco.  
  
  
  
Saturday morning rolled around. Harry, Draco and Ginny, to the shock and dismay of everyone, signed up on the try out roster under Chasers.  
  
"Harry, what the hell are you doing, mate?" Seamus sputtered as he signed up for Beater. "You're the best Seeker we have, and you sign up for CHASER???" Ron ran over, astounded.  
  
"Harry, what're you doing?" he bellowed. Harry sighed and shook his head.  
  
"Ron, Seamus, I'm too tall and heavy for Seeker. In case you hadn't noticed, I shot up six inches over the summer, and I've been assured that I will grow at least another four inches before I stop." Harry shouldered his way past the two gaping Gryffindors.  
  
"Yeah, Harry, Draco and I are going out for Chaser together. One for all and all for one, or something like that." Ginny slung her arms around Harry's neck and he picked her up on his back, slinging her legs to one side. He carried her to the Quidditch Pitch comfortably.  
  
Draco caught up to them. "So, Potter, you've finally found your use in life. Harry Potter: The Boy Who Lived To Be a Pack Mule!" Laughing, Harry chased him down to the Pitch, Ginny hanging on for dear life.  
  
Oliver Wood stood in the center of the Pitch, staring at them as they stumbled onto the grass. "Holy shit, Harry. They told me you had changed, but I didn't expect you or Ginny for that matter to have punked out." Harry stiffened, the laughter dying.  
  
"Hello, Oliver," he replied stonily. Draco shot him a concerned look. *Nothing like that, Draco. He's just going to make our time miserable if he hangs around for very long. He hates Slytherins with a passion.*  
  
*Oh.* Draco's grin faded as he stared at the former Gryffindor. "Hello, Wood," he said neutrally.  
  
Oliver Wood cocked an eyebrow. "Going out for Seeker as usual, Malfoy? You'll have to beat the best, then."  
  
"Nope, actually, the three of us are going for Chaser. We found that we work extremely well together," Ginny said casually, still on Harry's back.  
  
"WHAT?" yelled Oliver Wood sharply. "Potter, you're the best damn seeker ever! The hell you are trying out for Chaser!"  
  
"Actually, Wood, I found someone better than me. I'm too heavy and tall for seeking anymore. You need someone light and small." Harry spoke as if her were explaining things to a tantrumming two year old.  
  
Oliver stared at them suspiciously. "Who?" he asked finally.  
  
James and Lily skipped onto the field, a seemingly happy pair of fourth years. Oliver's eyes widened as he recognized them. "Harry, that isn't- it can't bloody be! Your parents are here and they're KIDS!" James and Lily walked over to them, laughing.  
  
"Oh, Wood, here's my replacement. Dad, this is Oliver Wood, my old Captain." James grinned evilly at the astounded Wood.  
  
"Hey, Wood. You have an older sister, right? Hailey? Cute girl. She was a second year when we graduated last time. Anyway, I can beat Harry and barely at that. I just beat him on Wednesday which I've been told had only happened one time before. Nice to meet you. Are you the coach?"  
  
"No- no, I'm not. I just came to talk about the League." By the time he had adjusted to the fact that the Potters were, in fact, standing in front of him, everyone else who was trying out had arrived.  
  
"Now then, can everyone hear me?" he asked the assembled forty students. A chorus of "Yes" answered him. "All right then, there are twenty schools in the League, divided into four groups of five. Each group will have one team advance to the Semifinals and then Finals, by process of who wins the most games in the Division.  
  
"You are in group one, which is made up of Hogwarts, Durmstrung in Siberia, Russia, Beaubaxtons in Paris, France, Magica Universidad do Roma in Rome, Italy, and Dragon's Fang in Beijing, China.  
  
"The other three groups are Division Two: Southern California School of Magic in Orange County, California, Magica Universidad de Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico, Phoenix Fire Academy in Tinian, Micronesia, Sydney Magical University in Sydney, Australia, and Merlin's Academy in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  
  
"Division Three is made up of Salem Magic Academy in Salem, Massachusetts, New Orleans Academy for the Gifted in New Orleans, Louisiana, Washington State Magical Academy in Seattle, Washington, St. Louis Wizarding School in St. Louis, Missouri, and Ontario Mages' Academy in Ontario, Canada.  
  
"Division Four is made of Academy of Isis in Alexandria, Egypt, Shaman Academy in Ethiopia, the South African Magic School in South Africa, Bhodi Tree Magic School in Goa, India, and the Muslim Magical Academy in Pakistan.  
  
"You better make it to the Semifinals. We have by far the best players out of the schools, and I know because I have seen them. Now, I'm gonna get out of your hair, Madame Hooch." With that, Oliver took a seat in the stands.  
  
"All right, Chasers, over here. Seekers, in the air. Goalies, line up behind the goals, and Beaters, take your bats." She blew her whistle and the tryouts began.  
  
  
  
Five hours later, Madam Hooch had finally decided on the first and second string player. "All right, we have it! Listen for your names, and those of you not called, better luck next year. All right, First String Seeker is James Potter! First String Chasers are Harry Potter, Ginny Weaseley and Draco Malfoy! First String Beaters are Damian and Nicholai! First String Goalie is Emily George! Good job, you seven!" Everyone applauded them.  
  
"Second String Seeker is Cho Chang! Second String Chasers are Michelle Johnson, Susan Bones, and Tammy Andrews! Second String Beaters are Seamus Finnigan and Blaise Zambini! Second String Goalie is Ron Weaseley! Good job!" The people not called walked back into the castle, leaving the fourteen people called on the field.  
  
"Now, Alanna and Xander have offered to provide brooms for the team. I have agreed after sampling their brooms. So, those without their brooms already, please see them within the next two days. Right, team, time to practice. We have two weeks before our first game against Beaubaxtons, which will take place here." Groaning, they took to the skies.  
  
  
  
A/N: Hello again, what's up... so, u like?  
  
(1) I forget what story I stole the idea from, but it sounds like a cool game. So, whoever you are, thanks!  
  
B/N: Hello people, hope you all liked this little show of supremely awesome imagination, I know I did, but I might only be saying that 'cause she is my sister. A quick word from the wise and experienced (if you can believe it, I am referring to myself): never, ever go online from a friends house, and tell your younger sister that you think your principal is sexually repressed, and then trust her not to go to school and write a note to her friend saying the principal is gay and sexually depressed, and then get that note confiscated by the teacher. Yes, being bored with a dictionary near, which leads to things that young ears should not hear, which leads to extremely stupid conversations, which lead to horribly awkward situations..... *sigh* the story of my life. Well, that's all, folks!  
  
P.S.: My sis did not tell me what you guys liked if you preferred something besides cookies, so I give you the patented Buffet Basket! All you have to do is say what you would like to have, and reach in and take it! Though I would advise against multiple goodies at the same time; you might end up with something fit to make Ron Weaseley lose his appetite (Heaven forbid!) So be careful what you wish for, and don't intentionally ask for anything poisoned; do it yourself. I don't know about you all, but I wouldn't like a lawsuit right now; I'm on a non-lawsuit diet, thankyouverymuch!  
  
A/N: Now, for a limited time only, Draco and Harry are on auction. Comes complete with their own jars of chocolate and caramel sauce.... Yum... bidding starts at $500!  
  
Harry: (covered in chocolate) Damnit! That BITCH! I'm all sticky, and why are we dating in this story, Malfoy?  
  
Draco: (Holding a jar of Caramel) Damned if I know, Potter, You aren't supposed to dump the jar on yourself, Dumbass. You're only supposed to hold it.  
  
Harry: I'M NOT A DUMBASS, DIPSHIT! (Tackles Draco, rolling around on the impromptu stage. Chocolate everywhere.)  
  
B/N: Incase anyone is wondering: yes, my sister is a sadistic bitch!  
  
A/N: No! If I were sadistic, I would have them tied up, with lots of whips and chains!  
  
B/N: See what I mean? 


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15  
  
On Monday afternoon, Harry, Draco and Ginny walked quickly into their Wandless and Elemental Magic class. "Ginny, don't you have class? What are you doing over here?" Harry asked.  
  
"I got out of my DADA class at lunch. Professor Lupin and I had a long talk about my demon powers, and he said that the best defense I could have would be to fully understand and train my demonic powers, so he excused me from class for the rest of the year. You two have to tutor me, though." They walked through the door. Alanna practically skipped over to them.  
  
"You three are going to work on something different! I want you to learn how to become Animagi. Harry and Draco, you two will be able to take any form you want. Ginny, I honestly have no idea how many you will have, but you probably will have more than one." The three of them nodded, excited.  
  
"Um, Alanna, how do we do that?" Harry asked curiously.  
  
"I will be instructing you," Snape's voice came from behind them. They turned and saw him standing in the doorway, an evil smirk on his face. "Lily took the first years after I made a little Hufflepuff cry. She said something about 'irreparably traumatizing their psyches'. Whatever."  
  
"Severus," chided Alanna, "the little children do not need to be traumatized. You do realize that they will be making laws when you are really old, right? Are you sure you want them to hate Potions Masters?" Severus raised an eyebrow. "Anyway, link with them and let them feel you transform into a raven."  
  
Severus nodded and he, Harry, Draco, and Ginny linked minds. Everyone else in the class crowded around to watch, ignoring the lecturing Xander.  
  
Severus concentrated, and swiftly transformed. Harry, Draco and Ginny closed their eyes, relishing the feeling of total freedom they experienced through Sev. *Wow* thought Harry in amazement.  
  
Severus changed back, to the disappointment of everyone else. "All right, what's next?" he asked once he had a mouth to talk through.  
  
"Now, you are going to transform into a different animal." Alanna said brightly.  
  
Severus stared at her incredulously. "All right, I make no promises." He concentrated on finding another animal to transform into, one that would fit him.  
  
"No, silly, you don't need to do that. All you need to do is focus on an animal and then change your physical form. Here, let me guide you." Alanna gently touched his temple. "Now, pick an animal, magical or otherwise." Severus concentrated on a Black Mamba, one of the most deadly snakes in the world. "Good choice. Now, picture that animal and see yourself becoming one."  
  
Slowly, Severus lengthened into a nine foot ebony snake. "Hello, my Godsssssson," he hissed to Draco. Draco stared at him in confusion.  
  
Harry grinned. "Hey, Draco, he said hello. Say hi back."  
  
Slowly, and with great difficulty, Draco managed a hissed "Hello" in Parseltongue.  
  
Harry grinned at him. "Ssssso, Uncle Sssssev," he hissed eerily. "How do you like being a sssssnake?"  
  
"It'sssssss very nicsssssse. I like it very much." Severus hissed back. Reluctantly, he changed back.  
  
"All right, now Harry, Draco, Ginny, it's your turn. You will not be transforming any time soon, but you do need to do a bit of soul searching. You have to find your animal." Harry and Draco nodded and sat down on two large cushions.  
  
Alanna pulled Ginny to the side. "Ginny, you need to think about what will happen when you transform. You might, instead of turning into an animal, become your demon form."  
  
"I have a demon form?" she asked, a little awed.  
  
"Yes, and I'm not sure what might happen. We've never had this happen before as you can tell. We're learning with you."  
  
"All right, I-" Ginny was interrupted by Ron's strangled shout.  
  
"YOU'RE a WHAT???" he yelled. Gin whipped around to see Ron, Hermione, Dean, Seamus, Blaise, and Eric staring at her. Only Emily was completely unaffected by the news, as she already knew.  
  
"Ginny, are you really a demon?" Seamus asked conversationally. Ginny turned white, but mumbled a "yes". "COOL!" he shouted enthusiastically. Blaise and Eric nodded, eyes sparkling.  
  
"That is really sweet, Ginny." Blaise said. Ron turned to him, infuriated.  
  
"How the HELL can you say that? She isn't even human!! She's a fucking DEMON. They're EVIL!" Ginny stared at him, stricken, before bursting into tears.  
  
*I'm DATING the BITCH from HELL!* thought Dean, shocked into speechlessness.  
  
Harry and Draco rushed over. "The FUCK! What's going on over here?" Harry stared at the sobbing Ginny.  
  
"They- they said I'm EVIL!" she wailed. Harry turned to the other seven.  
  
"Hey," Seamus said, hands raised in surrender as he stared at Harry's snarling face. "I said it was cool. It was the asswipe next to me," pointing at Ron for emphasis, "who said she was evil." Seamus, Emily, Eric, and Blaise hurriedly moved to the other side of Harry away from Ron, Hermione and Dean. Neville and Luna ran over, worried.  
  
"What's going on?" Neville asked Draco. Draco shushed him and kept a tight hold on Ginny. They watched Harry deal with Ron.  
  
"Oh, really." said Harry coldly as he stared at Ron.  
  
"YES REALLY! She's a fucking DEMON! THEY'RE ALL ON SATAN'S SIDE!" Ron screeched.  
  
WHAM! Harry punched him across the jaw. Ron flew backwards, unconscious. "FUCK YOU; SHE'S YOUR BLOODY SISTER! HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT???" Harry roared. Draco cradled Ginny to his chest protectively. They stared, wide eyed as Harry strode over to the two others. "So I would then suppose that because I'm not entirely human that I'm evil as well?" he asked calmly. The two of them shook their heads quickly.  
  
*But Ginny is. Who knows when she could kill us all?* thought Dean. At that, Ginny's eyes hardened, turning completely black and her nails sharpened into claws.  
  
"Oh shit, Ginny, love you have to calm down. Please, little sister, calm down." Draco pleaded with her.  
  
"Ginny, I don't understand. How- what- why did this happen?" Hermione asked, still reeling but trying desperately to understand.  
  
"That diary in my first year linked me to a demon. Basically, we molded into one being, or that's what Tom Riddle said." Ginny, tears still streaming down her face, tried to explain.  
  
"You- YOU'RE TALKING TO TOM RIDDLE????" Dean finally exploded angrily. He turned to Harry. "See, that PROVES IT! She is EVIL! FUCK YOU, YOU BITCH!" Harry turned and slammed him into a wall, his entire body glowing from rage.  
  
Ginny let out a primal scream. "Love, calm down, you have to calm down now." Draco tried to no avail.  
  
"Calm DOWN? CALM DOWN???" she screamed at him, tearing from his grip. Angrily, she began to stalk back and forth, her robes whipping around her. "I WILL NOT CALM DOWN!" Her hair suddenly lengthened into a mane that whipped around her hips. Her eyes, previously black, suddenly glowed an intense shade of scarlet behind the black. She shot up nine inches, her robes shredding on her as she grew. Draco quickly cast a charm on her clothes so they would grow with her, salvaging her leather pants and black tube top.  
  
*Only Draco would think of that as she transformed into a demon,* thought Harry dourly as his little sister continued to change. She snarled, revealing a wicked looking pair of fangs. The rest of her teeth lengthened and sharpened as well. Flames licked around her fingertips as she searched around her for something or someone to destroy.  
  
*Ginny, I'm really sorry, but we have to do this.* Grimly, Alanna and Xander linked fully with Harry, Draco, and Severus. As one focused force, they invaded her mind, forcing her into submission.  
  
*CALM DOWN, LITTLE ONE.* the combined Demigods forced her to relax and let go of her homicidal urges. Gradually, they felt her calming back down and released her.  
  
Ginny stood there still in her demonic form, panting, tears streaming down her face. She allowed Harry and Draco to sit her down between them. They hugged her, trying their best to comfort her through Ron and Dean's betrayal. Neville and Luna just stood to the side, conversing intently. No one really noticed that they were still there.  
  
"They all hate me. There's nothing I can do," she sobbed brokenly.  
  
"Actually, it's just those two idiots who hate you. We think it's cool as hell," Seamus offered, sitting down in front of her. Emily, Eric, and Blaise joined him on the floor.  
  
Ginny stared at them in amazement. "You don't hate me?" she sniffed.  
  
"Hell no. Why would we? We all are a bunch of misunderstood freaks anyway. I'm sexually confused, Blaise has no stable gender, Emily's a California surfer hacker punk trying to fit into England, and Eric's parents are Death Eaters. You fit right in." Seamus lightly stated, grinning.  
  
Ginny grinned at them weakly. "Now what do I do?" she asked, staring at the still unconscious Ron. "If he tells Mum and Dad, they'll react the same way he did. I can't go home, and I can't stay in Gryffindor. They'll kill me."  
  
"That is true," Seamus said thoughtfully. "I-" Neville interrupted.  
  
"Ginny, Luna and I have talked it over and you can either move in with her into Ravenclaw or move down into Slytherin. You are right; Gryffindor Tower isn't safe for you anymore." Ginny stared at them, wide eyed.  
  
"When did you get here?" she asked, her expression guarded.  
  
"We pretty much heard it all. So, where do you want to go?" He asked her, squatting down to her eye level.  
  
"I wish I didn't have to move at all!" She turned and buried her head into Harry's shoulder, sobbing.  
  
"I know, I know." Draco stroked her still mane like hair.  
  
"You know, Gin, you should really keep your hair like this. It's fantastic." Ginny looked at him incredulously. "I mean it!" Draco conjured a full length mirror for her and Harry stood her up. She walked over to it and stared at her reflection.  
  
"Hey! I'm almost as tall as you, Harry!" She exclaimed happily.  
  
"Actually, you are as tall as me. I'm just wearing boots." Harry came to stand behind her, Draco standing next to him. She examined her changes thoughtfully.  
  
"This isn't too bad, but the fangs are a bit much. Is there any way I can mix and match?" She asked out loud.  
  
Severus walked up behind her from where he had been talking to Alanna and Xander intently. "Ginny, your belongings have been moved to Slytherin. Thank you, Miss Lovegood for offering to share a dorm with her, but she needs her family. Right now, that is me, Harry and Draco." Ginny turned and flew into his arms.  
  
"Thank you, Uncle Sev," she murmured just loud enough for him to hear. "Thank you." *I would die if any of you had treated me the way Ron had.*  
  
*What's family for?* he replied, hugging the demoness. All of a sudden, he looked down and started to laugh. "Ginny, I didn't know that you could purr...wait that sounded wrong!"  
  
Harry doubled over, laughing but Draco walked over to her and listened. "Uncle Sev, you're right! She is purring!" He laughed, shaking his head in amusement.  
  
"So the Demon Ginny was bonded to just so happened to be Clautius's version of the Veela. That isn't too bad. So, instead of changing into a Harpy like our Veela, she's a Fire Demon. That does make sense," Alanna said thoughtfully. Everyone turned to stare at her.  
  
"How the hell can you be calm about this?" Hermione yelled. "She's a bloody untrained demon! You already said that you have no clue about what to do, so how can everyone take this so calmly??"  
  
"Hermione, I really don't want to knock you unconscious as well," Harry warned her. Hermione's already pale face turned a sickly cheese color and she closed her mouth.  
  
"It's simple, Hermione. Ginny's personality hasn't changed, which is something you are forgetting. She simply has different powers. I have to train Marianna the same way," Alanna said, gesturing to the poor first year staring at them with saucer sized eyes. Harry's heart went out to her.  
  
"Besides," Alanna continued. "she is still herself. She is still GINNY. We are just going to find out what she can do, that's all."  
  
Hermione nodded reluctantly. "You still scare the shit out of me, though," she muttered.  
  
"True, but I scare the shit out of you. She's on our level, just different." Alanna walked over to Ginny. "So, little sister, would you like to start testing your powers or should I help you transform back?" she asked gently.  
  
"I want to test them," Ginny said resolutely from Harry, Draco and Severus's arms. "But I want my family here."  
  
"All right. Everyone else, get on the other side of the room. This could get dangerous and I don't know how well you'll be protected." Hermione dragged Ron and Dean to safety. No one else moved.  
  
"Um begging your pardon, but we are her family and we aren't going anywhere," Neville bravely stated, determined not to move.  
  
Harry sighed. "I'll protect them. Come here, everyone." They walked over and he briefly touched their foreheads, shielding them. "There, they will be fine." Alanna nodded and set an unbreakable partition through the center of the room.  
  
Xander taught the rest of the class on the other side of the room.  
  
For the next two hours Alanna stretched Ginny's powers to the ends of their endurance. Everyone else watched, amazed as Ginny floated in mid air and transformed into first a beautiful red and gold phoenix, then a huge orange tiger, and finally a little red fox. While in animal form she could still levitate other objects, create fires of intense magnitude, and channel other people's powers. On a whim, she apparated everyone in the room to the Moon and held an atmospheric shield over everyone without even breaking a sweat. She then turned and destroyed Jupiter, only to remake it seconds later. Everyone was safely returned to the Room of Requirement.  
  
"My God," Alanna whispered. "She has our strength. What the hell did Clautius do?" *And what does this mean?*  
  
  
  
The next day, Harry and Draco sat in their Spellwriting class, quietly working on a spell to shield the Killing Curse. They could do it with will magic, but what about everyone who couldn't master will magic? So far they had an idea for a shield.  
  
Harry was idly flipping through a tome, when something caught his eye. "Hey! Listen to this. The Blood Binding Ritual, when done correctly, permanently binds the caster's blood with another's, making them truly blood relations. They each take on characteristics of the other person, are blood inheritors, and form a familiar telepathic bond that, it is rumored, even death cannot break. Draco, I found it!"  
  
Draco pushed him aside and kept reading. Once he had finished reading the entire spell, he looked up. Harry was sitting next to him, grinning widely. "You know what this means, right?" Draco asked him, beginning to grin himself.  
  
"Oh yeah. It means that we are truly Ginny's family. This is going to be so awesome." Harry started to contact Ginny with the excellent news, but Draco stopped him.  
  
"Let's surprise her." They grinned at each other and Harry discretely slipped the tome into his bag.  
  
"Sounds like a plan to me. She's gonna love this."  
  
  
  
It was three days before their first game against Beaubaxtons and the team, for the life of them, couldn't decide on the most crucial thing of all- their uniforms!  
  
"For the last time, why the HELL are we even considering wearing something with every House color on it?? We look like clowns!" complained Draco loudly at the end of their practice Thursday. He was holding up a garnish, multicolored Quidditch uniform that looked as if it came straight out of the '60s. "I REFUSE to wear this piece of....AARGH!"  
  
Madam Hooch glared at him, sniffing. "For your information, Mister Malfoy, I designed that robe." She tore the monstrosity out of his hands.  
  
"Why can't they be green? Just green!" Draco yelled indignantly.  
  
"Because we are a SCHOOL team, not the Slytherin Team!" Nicholai argued right back, the team's resident Hufflepuff. He stood up, towering over Draco. Draco's eyes widened at the menacing stare on his face.  
  
"I want RED!" yelled Ginny. A chorus of "Hell No" answered her.  
  
"Listen, why can't they be black and silver?" Harry asked for the hundredth time, again receiving no answer. Shaking his head in exasperation, he snatched the robe from Madam Hooch and quickly changed the color to black with silver trim, without anyone noticing. They were all too busy screaming at each other.  
  
He stared at the simple black and silver robe. *Hmmm.* He added a large Hogwarts' Crest to the front and back, then, on a whim, added a red stripe at the left shoulder with the Gryffindor Crest underneath. He made one more, in Ginny's size, one that would fit his dad, and one for Ron's lanky frame. Then he made four for Slytherins with green stripes, five for Ravenclaw with blue stripes, and three for Hufflepuff with yellow stripes.  
  
"QUIET!!!" he roared, finished with the tailoring and designing. Everyone stopped and stared at him, mouths hanging open. "Does anyone like THIS?" he asked, floating the robes in front of their respective wearers.  
  
Draco fingered his robe thoughtfully. "Could the green be on both sides?" he asked. Harry nodded and waved his hand. A matching stripe and crest were added to every uniform on the opposite shoulders. Draco nodded approvingly and slipped it on. It fit him like a glove.  
  
"I like it," he said. Everyone took that as a sign to slip theirs on as well. Murmurs of approval swept among the other thirteen team mates. Harry watched, incredibly amused as everyone agreed that they liked his design. Even Madam Hooch could find no fault with it.  
  
"Fine, we have our uniforms. Can anyone else find something to fight about?" Harry asked, in exasperation.  
  
No one answered him. Finally, Madame Hooch dismissed them for the night.  
  
  
  
At promptly seven o'clock Saturday morning, Harry and Draco slid into the Great Hall for breakfast. Both were a bundle of nerves, anxious about the first game of the season.  
  
Ginny, Emily and Eric were already there, eating calmly at the Slytherin Table. Luna and Neville sat with them, chatting quietly. Harry and Draco sat down next to them and grabbed some toast.  
  
Harry munched quietly, barely tasting what he was eating. Draco wasn't faring any better. "This is so nerve wracking, I can't bear it!" Draco exclaimed quietly, pushing his plate away in disgust. Seamus and Blaise walked up behind them, and sat down.  
  
"Hey, Dray, relax. You only know that you are making it worse for yourself," Blaise, in female form, counseled him, laying her head on his shoulder.  
  
Draco sighed. "I know, Blaise, I know. I just can't calm down, and Harry's just as worried as I am."  
  
Seamus elbowed Harry in the ribs. "Hey, mate, relax. What's the worst that could happen?"  
  
"We could lose in a big way," replied Harry dourly.  
  
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Come on, Harry. Relax. WE aren't going to lose. The other team isn't made up exclusively of super wizards and demigods. Plus we have these awesome brooms."  
  
Harry groaned and rested his head in his hands. "And what if we are disqualified for that?"  
  
"We aren't going to be disqualified. Stop worrying," Emily ordered. "Come on, it's 7:30. Let's start warming up in half an hour. The game starts at nine." Grimly, they concentrated on eating, trying not to let their nerves overcome them.  
  
  
  
At exactly 8:50, everyone was assembled in the Ravenclaw Locker room, which was now the Hogwarts Locker room. "Everyone, gather close," Harry ordered as soon as they had finished dressing. Everyone crowded around Harry and Draco, the Co captains.  
  
"Ok, everyone. We've had six good practices and I think we can win this. I checked with Wood about our abilities. As long as we don't use them to summon the Snitch or the Quaffle or anything like that, it's legal. So, no blatantly illegal stuff, and we'll be fine." Harry stopped talking, his face pale from nerves.  
  
Draco continued. "Now, I fully expect you to use whatever powers you can. So, let's link up mentally." Everyone nodded and they tied their consciousnesses together. *We ARE going to win this! So come on, people, let's go out there and make Hogwarts proud!* with that, they exited the locker room and mounted their brooms.  
  
In the Announcer's booth, Fred, George, and Lee were sitting there, waiting for Madam Hooch to give them the thumbs up that they were ready to start.  
  
"I can't believe we're announcing games instead of playing, George," Fred commented sadly.  
  
"I know, but, hey- at least we can make fun of the other team without being yelled at- look, there's Hooch!"  
  
Lee grabbed the microphone.  
  
In the doorway of the Locker room, Harry waited anxiously for the announcer to start. Suddenly, Lee Jordan's voice boomed over the grounds. "And, now, the Hogwart's Team! Co captains and Chasers Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy! Wait, how in HELL did THAT happen!" Chuckling, Harry and Draco kicked off and flew from the Locker room.  
  
*Well, this is It.* Harry thought grimly as he heard Ginny's name called, followed by James, Damien, Nicholai, and Emily. They swooped onto the Quidditch Pitch, landing to the cheers and screams of their fellow students.  
  
"And, in opposition, the Beaubaxtons Team! Captain and Seeker Mark Delacour, Chasers Robert Dupree, Anthony Lupa, and Alexandria Beaumont! Beaters Adrian and Chelsea Rainier, and Goalie Hope Malfoy!" The Beaubaxtons team, in a light blue uniform, shot out of their locker room to the cheers and whistles of the assembled Beaubaxtons students. Harry looked around anxiously as he scanned the crowd.  
  
*Oh HELL, how many of them are there?* he asked anxiously.  
  
*Almost all their students,* replied Draco as he stood next to Harry. Ginny stood right behind them, scanning the crowd as well.  
  
*Are you ready?* she asked, looking a little pale.  
  
Harry hugged her. *Don't worry. I'm worrying enough for all three of us.* they laughed, breaking the tension. *Come on, masks in place.* they smirked.  
  
Harry and Draco strode forcefully over to the Referee and the other team Captain. "Captains, shake hands," the Referee ordered tersely. Harry and Draco both shook Mark Delacour's hand.  
  
*He must be related to Fleur,* Harry thought.  
  
*He is. They're first cousins,* Draco told him. Harry nodded, and Ginny stood next to them, waiting for the Quaffle to be released.  
  
The Referee released the Snitch and Bludgers, and finally threw up the Quaffle. The game was on!  
  
Ginny zipped into the air, neatly catching it even before the rest of the team had moved. Harry and Draco flanked her, mirroring each other's movements. Lee and George were yelling in the background, but Harry couldn't bother to pay them a hint of attention as Ginny abruptly passed the Quaffle to him. He dove a hard right, to the shock of the Beaubaxtons Chasers, who had no idea what they were doing.  
  
*Draco, are you ready?* Harry asked as he flew about sixty feet above the Pitch, a chaser tailing him.  
  
*No, I'm getting a manicure, Potter! NOW* Draco snapped.  
  
Harry dove and passed to Draco as he skimmed an inch above the grass. Dimly he heard a long "HOGWARTS GOAAAAL!!!!!" from Fred.  
  
Harry zoomed up, right behind the lead chaser and intercepted the pass. Looping quickly 180 degrees, he zoomed back to the Beaubaxtons goal, the other team in hot pursuit. *Damien, get them off of me!* he shouted and felt a Bludger whiz past him. Harry quickly slammed the Quaffle into the goal. 20-0 Hogwarts. Suddenly, he saw the Snitch. *Dad, snitch dead ahead.*  
  
*I see it. Go score some more before I catch It.* Harry was only too happy to comply.  
  
Twenty five minutes later, the score was 150 to 0, Hogwarts. *Dad, catch the damn ball already!* Harry laughed as they scored yet another goal.  
  
*Fine, fine!* Laughing, James deftly caught the snitch, ending the game 310 to 0.  
  
The teams again shook hands. *And you were worried about losing?* Draco asked Harry, cuffing the back of his head.  
  
*Yeah, yeah.* Harry rubbed the base of his skull. *Good game, everyone. Hit the showers.*  
  
  
  
That night, they had a wild party in the Slytherin Dorms that lasted until three in the morning. Harry and Draco spent ten minutes turning the nice, nonalcoholic refreshments Severus and McGonagall had provided into some of the strongest Firewhiskey, Everclear, Vodka, Rum and Bacardi around. Severus had watched them transform the beverages and walked back into his room, laughing, ready to stock up on his Hangover Potions before heading back into the party. Eric and Emily, who were both very knowledgeable about bartending, mixed drinks all night long. Needless to say, by midnight, EVERYONE was plastered.  
  
Harry, Draco and James were the heroes of the evening. By the time James was on his fifth Screwdriver, he had been congratulated and hugged and kissed more times than he could count. Harry and Draco were in the same predicament. Lily, just as drunk as James, bitch slapped the girl who kissed her husband. They got into a catfight, which led to a very drunk Seamus taking bets on who would win. Blaise hung off his shoulder, the alcohol removing any animosity between the two. Harry just watched his mother soundly kick the other girl's ass and laughed.  
  
Severus pulled Lily off of the unconscious other girl. "Now, Lily, you know that fights aren't allowed... why not I have no idea, but ..." Severus shook his head. *Damn drunkenness. I can't think.* He stumbled and sat down on a chair.  
  
Draco sat next to Harry on the large couch in front of the fire. "Hey, Potter," he slurred slightly.  
  
"Hey yourself. You know, we need to organize a game or something... Dementor's kiss sounds nice or Magical Truth or Dare or Seven Minutes in Heaven or SOMETHING!" Harry yelled, startling the couple making out on the floor in front of him. He watched, morbidly fascinated, as Blaise and Seamus sat up from the intense lip lock they had been in.  
  
Blaise wiped her lipstick off. Harry blinked. "Um, Blaise, weren't you just a guy or something?" Blaise nodded and smirked. Seamus just shrugged and kept kissing her.  
  
Ginny stumbled over to her brothers. She sat down on their laps, giggling. "Whee! This is SO much FUN!" She yelled, more than a little drunk. "I wanna play STRIP POKER!" she yelled. Harry grinned and conjured a deck of cards.  
  
"STRIP POKER!!!!!" he screamed above the pulsating music. Instantly, twenty people rushed or stumbled over to play. Harry conjured three more decks, mixing them together. "Ok, rules are everyone but the winner has to remove an article of clothing, all right?" He could see his parents leaving the dorms, laughing and stumbling. *You go, Mum and Dad.* He turned his attention back to the game and they started playing.  
  
Three hours later, they had played fifteen rounds of strip poker, had ten games of Truth or Dare, and were now playing Dementor's Kiss with the Veritaserum they had made in the NEWTS POTIONS class three weeks ago. Harry watched, laughing, as Blaise French kissed Draco, slipping him the drug, and then asking him a question.  
  
"Draco, what is the one thing that you would wish for if a rapid death was ever revealed?"  
  
"My obsession with Muggle trains. I have a five hundred piece train set under my bed and I take it out and play with it whenever no one else is around. I pretend I'm the conductor and even make the train noises- OH SHIT!!!!!" Apparently the Veritaserum had just worn off. Draco sank into his chair, face beet red, wishing the floor would open up and swallow him on the spot as everyone around him rolled on the floor laughing.  
  
"Harry, it's your turn," Draco snarled, still humiliated. He held a mouthful of Veritaserum in his mouth. Leaning over, he French kissed the shocked Gryffindor. Harry, flabbergasted, swallowed before realizing what Draco had done.  
  
"Now, Harry, your turn. What was your most embarrassing moment from school?" he asked.  
  
"In fifth year, I kissed Cho Chang and realized that I felt absolutely nothing towards kissing girls. The only thing I could think to describe it was the word wet, nothing more," Harry woodenly replied. He blinked, the truth serum wearing off rapidly. Gasping, he covered his mouth, his eyes bugging out. Everyone stared at him seriously. No one laughed, not even a giggle.  
  
"Really, Harry?" asked Ginny. *Well that does make sense. His soul mate is a guy, so he would be-* Harry interrupted her.  
  
"Don't even say it. I'm NOT GAY!" he screeched and ran from the room. Draco watched him run and shook his head.  
  
"Ok, I'm officially out of the party." He stood up and walked to their room, trying to understand what the HELL just happened.  
  
Draco walked into their room, stumbling a little as he tried to clear his fuzzy mind. Harry's curtains were closed, and he could hear quiet sobs coming from inside.  
  
*Harry? Are you all right?* he called mentally, still a little confused about why Harry was so upset. *What's going on, mate? Talk to me.*  
  
The curtains were yanked open. Harry sat there, his eyes blood red. *There's nothing to talk about.*  
  
*Really. Why're you crying then?* Draco asked, sitting comfortably on Harry's bed.  
  
*You really don't want to know, and I don't want to talk.* Harry flopped backwards onto the bed. *I just hadn't thought of the damn kiss like that, that's all. It was a bit of a shock.*  
  
All of a sudden, Draco found himself on his own bed, the curtains on Harry's bed once again closed. *Good night, Draco,* came the sleepy order from Harry.  
  
*Fine, be that way. Good night.* they both lay there for a long time before finally falling asleep.  
  
  
  
A week went by. Harry still refused to talk about what he had said under the Truth Serum. Draco finally dropped it, figuring that Harry would talk when he was good and ready to talk. He was finally figuring out that the 'Damn Gryffindor' as Draco affectionately called him, could be the most stubborn person in the world, and that he never did anything unless he wanted to.  
  
On Saturday, right after their practice, Alanna walked into the Locker room after they had finished dressing. "Harry, I need to talk to you." Draco went to follow them, but Alanna stopped him. "Draco, I need to talk to Harry alone, all right?" Draco shrugged and took both of their brooms and clothes back into the castle.  
  
Alanna turned to Harry once Draco was out of earshot. "Harry, we need to go to the Department of Mysteries. I need to see the Veil." Harry gulped, suddenly nervous.  
  
"All right, when do we leave?" he asked, trying to act casual. Across the castle, Draco picked up on his soul mate's sudden nervousness and frowned, wishing that he were there to find out what was going on.  
  
"Right now. Are you ready to go?" Harry nodded quickly, and they apparated directly into the phone booth that led to the Ministry of Magic. Harry dialed six two four four two.  
  
"State your name and business," came the cool female voice from the speaker.  
  
Harry spoke into the receiver. "Harry Potter, and Alanna, we are ...um..." he trailed off.  
  
Alanna took the phone from him. "We are on a classified mission."  
  
"Thank you." Two badges shot out of the coin slot. Harry and Alanna put them on, noting the "classified" label. They sank into the Ministry of Magic.  
  
Harry quickly led Alanna into the depths of the Ministry. At last, they came to the Department of Mysteries where the Veil was. Harry's imagination was on overdrive, imagining all the horrible things he had done and seen at the end of last year. His face was an awful shade of gray and his breaths were coming out in short, harsh gasps.  
  
"Harry, please stop hyperventilating. You are going to pass out."  
  
Dizzy, Harry rested his head against the wall. "I'm sorry, Alanna, but I don't think I can go down there. I keep seeing him fall over and over and it's hurting all over again." Tears started to fall steadily down his face. Dimly, he could feel Draco's concern through their bond, but he pushed it away.  
  
Alanna grabbed his hand, calming him. He nodded and pushed away from the wall. They continued down to the room where the Veil was kept. Harry stared at the Veil, infuriated at the injustice of it all. *GOD FUCKING DAMNIT ALL! He didn't deserve this!*  
  
Alanna stood in front of the Veil, reading the scrollwork on the sides and top of the frame. Harry stared at the Veil itself, lost in his memories. Suddenly, Alana shouted "AHA!" shaking him from his reverie.  
  
"What?" he asked sharply, moving to her side. "What is it?"  
  
"Here! It's Clautius's personal signature!" Harry stared at it incredulously. All he could see were fancy scrolls. Slowly, in front of his eyes, the scrollwork unraveled and formed the words "Potente Malum" across the bottom. Harry blinked and stared again at just the scrollwork.  
  
"So, now what?" he asked, still confused.  
  
Alanna shot him a withering look. "Now we poke our head through to see where it leads."  
  
Harry stared at her incredulously. "Oh," He managed to say. Alanna nodded and slid her head through the Veil. A few seconds later, she stood back upright and looked at him.  
  
"It's all clear. I'm going through. You coming or not?" With that, she stepped through the Veil. Harry, without any hesitation, followed her in.  
  
  
  
Draco fell to the floor in their dorm room. "Where is he????" *HARRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!* He screamed, unable to feel his soul mate. Xander apparated to his side.  
  
"You felt that too?" Xander asked. Draco nodded mutely, tears streaming down his face.  
  
"He's gone. One minute he was there, the next he was gone. WHERE IS HE?????" he shrieked. Severus came running.  
  
"What? What's happening?" he panted, gasping for breath.  
  
"HARRY'S GONE!!!" screamed Draco.  
  
"WHAT???" screamed Severus. *LILY, JAMES, COME NOW!!!!!*  
  
They apparated into the room. "WHAT?" Lily yelled.  
  
Xander stood still in the center of the room, tears running down his face. "Where is she?" he asked brokenly. "The only time we were ever separate was when Clautius took- THE VEIL!!!!" he yelled suddenly, causing the others to jump in shock. They looked at each other and apparated immediately.  
  
  
  
Harry and Alanna stood on the other side of the Veil, staring at the desolation around them. They were in the middle of a dirt field. On their left, in the distance, was a large castle. Alanna stared at it for a long time, not saying anything.  
  
Finally, she spoke. "I know where we are," she whispered, hugging herself. "Oh I remember..."  
  
*** She held her own against the invaders. *No way in Hell are they getting our territory* she thought angrily as she watched her troops, using her powers, to repel the invaders.  
  
*Hello, little one. You're so young and yet so powerful,* came an amused, inherently evil voice in her head. She cringed, trying to escape the voice yet unable to do so. *I will have many uses for you, little one. Only 15 and still so innocent. You will lose that innocence quickly, I can promise you that.*  
  
Alanna curled into the fetal position, closing in on herself, trying to protect her mind from the vile images the voice was sending her. *No, please, stop. LEAVE ME ALONE!* she screamed to no avail. Her trusted servants and protectors couldn't help her fight. They were only mortal, unlike her.  
  
*Please, please,* she begged. *Leave me alone. Leave our lands.*  
  
The voice chuckled, amused. *Come to me,* he commanded, accessing her motor functions. Against her will, she found herself walking stiffly, jerkily towards the shore of the ocean. She could see, ahead of her, an inky figure. It beckoned to her, and she, against her will, began to run faster and faster. The figure reached for her and caught her arm. She stared into a face of pure malice and descended into unconsciousness.  
  
She awoke, naked, in a cold, stone room, chained like a dog to the wall by a manacle around her neck. Struggling in vain to remove it through physical and magical strength, she sagged against the wall exhausted. Silent tears coursed down her face.  
  
*Now, now, little one. Why are you crying? I haven't even begun to hurt you.* the evilness stood in front of her and gently lifted her frightened eyes to meet his.  
  
*Please, let me go. Let me go,* she begged, knowing that there wasn't a chance in hell of that happening.  
  
*Don't you know? You're in Hell, little one. Welcome to eternal torment.* He caressed her face, chuckling at the way she squirmed away from his touch. He knelt down and brought his lips to hers. *I'll give it five years before you welcome my touch, little one. You'll lie there and welcome my weight on you and the feeling of me entering your fragile body. Little one, why did you choose such a small, delicate body? You made this too easy for me.*  
  
Standing, he quickly divested himself of his clothing. Petrified, she stared at him. *Nonononononononononononononono* she chanted over and over as he started to touch her breasts, teasing her nipples to fullness. "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" she shrieked, using every iota of her magic to slam him into the wall across from her.  
  
Laughing, he lifted himself from the floor where he had landed. *Not so delicate are you, little one? No matter, I can take you rough or gentle. It makes no difference to me, but take you I will, no doubt about that.* He strode across the room to her, batting her powers away. Sneering, he towered over her, then knelt swiftly and ripped her legs apart. She screamed over and over again, begging for someone, anyone to help her.  
  
*Your choice, little one, gently or rough. Which one is it?* he asked, poised between her legs. She screamed over and over, finally, in her terror, calling for her mother.  
  
*MOOOMMMMMAAAAAA!!!* She howled, petrified. Suddenly, she stiffened as Evil slammed into her mind, taking her over completely. She felt herself bond with Evil and, with the last of her singular consciousness, felt something huge and hard rip into her, tearing her wide open. She screamed, spiraling down into unconsciousness a she felt her powers rip out of her and flow into Evil, strengthening it beyond anything ever imagined. *God help us all* she thought before blessed darkness took her far away from the pain and humiliation. ***  
  
"We're in Clautius's realm," she finally told Harry, coming out of her memories. Harry stared at her, concerned and heard something behind him. He watched as Draco, Xander and Severus came through the Veil head first behind them.  
  
Draco sprinted over to him, their bond rekindling. "*HARRY!*" he screamed, launching himself at the startled teen. He slammed into him, hugging him and checking him over for any injuries. *I couldn't feel you. I thought you were dead. I couldn't feel you, I couldn't feel you,* he repeated over and over. Next to him, Xander was doing the same to Alanna and comforting her. Harry and Draco clung to each other, refusing to let go.  
  
Behind them, Severus let down his shields carefully and almost passed out. *MY soul mate. MY SOUL MATE IS HERE!!!* He yelled, feeling her consciousness for the first time in his life. Harry and Draco stiffened and turned around, staring at him. Alanna and Xander stared at him as well.  
  
*Are you sure?* Alanna finally asked, weighing the options.  
  
*Yes. I can feel her.*  
  
Harry stood still, searching for Sirius.*Sirius, where are you?* He expanded his consciousness, filling the entirety of the world. An Ancient Evil slammed into him, but not before he felt something...*SIRIUS!!!!* He yelled.  
  
Alanna and Xander dragged Harry and Severus by the collars. "Come on, he knows we're here. We have to move NOW!" They dragged them back and shoved them through the Veil, diving through after them.  
  
Harry, once through the Veil, tried to go back. *HE'S ALIVE!!! I KNOW HE IS!!! I FELT HIM!!!!* James grabbed his son, staring at the Veil, tears dripping down his face.  
  
*We'll get him back. He's managed to stay alive this long. He can last a little while longer. We will go after him, I promise.*  
  
Harry turned a tear stained face to Alanna. "We will go after them, right? We'll rescue Sirius and Uncle Sev's soul mate? We won't leave them there, will we?" he asked, his voice breaking.  
  
Alanna stared at him intently. "I promise. We will get them out of there."  
  
  
  
A/N: (wipes hand across forehead) whew, I'm done. Damn, that one was hard to write. I ended up crying when I had Alanna relive her memories. I did say I was writing this as therapy, right? I have had the same damn dream since I was about 10 or so, and it is one helluva nightmare, actually. I dream Alanna's memories, as weird as it sounds. Only I'm Alanna. So, I'm trying to write it out of my system. I gave you a taste of what her memories are like, so you can see that my dreams are pretty fucked up. Anyway, enough pity talk out of me. Chapter 16 is already in the planning, and if this chapter didn't convince you the genre is rightly horror, the next one will. Oh well, such is life.  
  
B/N: Damn, that is some pretty fucked up shit she's got in there. Well, you learn something new everyday. Yes, and I have just learned that my younger sister is being led to the Dark Side as we speak...... or, as I type, rather. Poll time: to let my ten-year-old sister read this chapter, or not to let my ten-year-old sister read this chapter. Fyi, she has read every other chapter..... but I would rather not traumatize her anymore than necessary. 


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Hello everyone, it's me again... so sorry I haven't updated in almost a week, as I have bronchitis and a double ear infection. Ok to the person who asked me to update more often... I'm spitting out 15+ page chapters roughly every four days as well as studying for my paramedic's courses. I am typing as fast as I can... I know you love my story so much, which is why I'm not mad, but my schoolwork comes first. So anyway, thanks for the lovely reviews, and Hermione and Ron aren't the most open minded of people, which is why I made them to be gits, and they won't be gits for much longer. Besides, they are wrapped up in each other and ignoring Harry.  
  
Oh well, enough from me already. On to chapter 16.  
  
Chapter 16  
  
*** Severus lay on the cold, stone floor, confused as to how exactly he had gotten there. Groaning, he tried to stand up, only to fall back against the wall, choking and panting. He grabbed whatever was wrapped around his neck, only to discover that he was chained to the wall. A heavy steel manacle dug into his neck, and an equally heavy chain secured him to the stones behind him. Looking down, he discovered, to his astonishment, that he was not only naked, but *WHAT THE HELL???*, a girl as well.  
  
*All right, Severus, think. What in God's name is going on here? How am I a girl, and where am I?* A sudden noise caught his attention. He shrank back into the wall as a hooded and cloaked figure unobtrusively pushed open the door and slunk inside, keeping to the shadows of the candlelit room.  
  
The figure hurriedly lowered the hood and stepped into the light. "Sirius?" Severus demanded, shocked. "What- How-" he broke off, desperately relieved to see someone remotely familiar in this hell hole.  
  
"Sh... Laurel, not so loud! You'll get us in trouble! I just came to tell you that I felt my godson. He's going to get us out of here, I promise." Sirius gently touched Severus's cheek, trying to reassure Laurel.  
  
"Black, it's me! Severus Snape! Where am I and why am I chained to the wall?" Sirius stared at him, his mouth hanging so far open that Severus could see his tonsils.  
  
"Snape???" Sirius hissed, looking around him to make sure no one was there. "What the HELL???"  
  
"I woke up here. What is going on and where are we?" Severus struggled against his bonds, to no avail.  
  
"We are in Clautius's realm. Laurel has been a prisoner here for the last two years. He's been raping her every day to steal her powers. Is she in there as well?" Sirius asked, genuinely concerned.  
  
Severus shook his head numbly. "Ra-rape?" he asked, stuttering over the word. "How long until Clautius returns?"  
  
"He should be here any minute. I just came to give her hope that we are going to get out of here." They both cringed as loud, booming footsteps could be heard walking outside the room. Sirius's face contorted in misery and terror. "Oh shit, I don't want to see this, I had to see it last week, and it's bad..." Sirius trailed off, close to tears.  
  
"What??? What's going to- oh NOOOO" Severus moaned, finally realizing what was about to happen to him. "Nooo, not again. I can't live through that again..." he whimpered, almost petrified with fear.  
  
"Again?" Sirius asked, eyes wide.  
  
"Did you honestly think that Death Eater initiations were tea and crumpets? You were gang raped if you were lucky. I was unlucky, which meant, additional to being gang raped, I was tortured for days," Severus told him quietly, trying to break the manacle around his neck. Sirius looked towards the door and, seeing it open, disappeared from view.  
  
A tall man with jet black hair streaked with silver strode into the room, black velvet robes whipping around his body. Severus cringed and tried to sink into the wall. Out of sheer desperation, he whispered an invisibility spell, and disappeared, but forgot about the chain still around his neck.  
  
The man, evil radiating off of him, stood in front of where Severus cowered, invisible. "Laurel, Laurel. How many times do I have to tell you. You keep forgetting the chain. No matter, as I can still see you, as I am in tune with your magic. Come on out, my dear appetizer." He waved his hand, and Severus appeared, naked and exposed.  
  
"What do you mean, appetizer," Severus asked, fighting the tears that threatened to spill down his face. All emotional control he had was shot to hell with one look into that monster's silver and scarlet eyes. *Oh shit, ohshitohshitohshitohshit* he thought desperately.  
  
The monster laughed. "Why, I mean that you are here as a substitute for your sister. She is so powerful... I could do such great things with her powers... Hopefully she'll rescue you so I can get her back...." the monster trailed off, a dreamy, conniving look on his face. Severus cringed slightly, and fought to control himself.  
  
"Well, you are chatty today, my dear. Usually, you are in a near catatonic state. What brought on the change, hum?" Clautius looked Severus up and down, inspecting him for some visible change. Finding none, he laughed, a full, throaty sound. Severus shuddered.  
  
*Sirius... help me...* he thought desperately directly into Sirius's mind. The other man could only watch, tears streaming down his face, as Clautius whispered a spell, divesting the monster of his robes. He knelt down in front of Severus and, without hesitation, ripped his legs open.  
  
Severus screamed, completely losing hic already tenuous grip on control. He threw his head back; eyes shut tightly and felt his mate's magic flow through him. Anxiously, he called on his powers as well and felt them respond and flow into him from Hogwarts. Silver and gold ribboned around him and his eyes snapped open, one was gold, the other silver. He bodily lifted Clautius from the floor and threw him against the wall, savagely enjoying the shock and pain that lanced through the monster's features.  
  
Clautius lifted himself from the hole in the wall that Severus had slammed him into, laughing ruefully. Severus stared at him, wide-eyed as Clautius dusted himself off and strode back over to him. Severus held a protective shield around himself, barring Clautius from entering his mind or coming closer than three feet from him.  
  
"Now, now. Make this easy on yourself, my dear and let me in. This feistiness is unlike you. I thought I had broken you three weeks ago. I guess I was wrong." Clautius stood over him, hands on his hips. He swirled black energy around his hand and touched Severus's shields.  
  
Severus's eyes widened in terror and astonishment as his shields drained into Clautius's powers, tingeing the monster's aura gold and silver. "No! NOOOOOO!" he screamed as his shields dropped without a protest. He lay against the wall, just about drained, panting. "You bastard. How could you do this to your own sister," he asked, snarling.  
  
"How could I do this to anyone else?" Clautius countered, once again kneeling between his opened legs. "You siblings of mine have the power I need in order to complete my plans. There is no one else. Now, as I have asked you before, hard or gentle? I will have your powers either way, my dear." Clautius smirked.  
  
Severus smirked back. "Well then, dear brother of mine, you are going to have to take them by force because I will fight you until the day I die. My soul mate will kill you."  
  
Clautius's smirk widened, causing Severus to stiffen. "I'm so scared," he murmured and grabbed Severus by the hair.  
  
Severus turned and sank his teeth into the monster's hand. "You should be," he spat and kicked Clautius square in the testicles. His eyes bulged and he fell to the ground in the fetal position, gasping. Severus grasped what little power he had and willed himself to change form. An ebony kitten with golden eyes scampered out of the manacles. Sirius scooped him up, and turning to run, skidded out of the room.  
  
Dimly, they could hear Clautius calling for his guards. *Put me down, Black. I'm not going to get you in trouble as well. One of us has to survive,* Severus ordered, twisting out of his arms and sprinted down the hall. Sirius followed him, changing into his 'mutt' form. They ran through the castle, desperate for a way out.  
  
Severus ran through the halls, looking for a place to hide. He skidded through an open door. He peeked his nose out the door, and hissed in surprise as a large hand grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. He turned, tiny claws extended, trying to slice to ribbons whoever held him.  
  
"Now, now, my dear. You are only making this harder on yourself." Clautius, still a little pale, shook Severus until his brain rattled. They disappeared and reappeared back in the room, Severus once again in the manacle. "Don't even try that again," Clautius warned. "The manacle will shrink the fit you no matter what form you take."  
  
Severus quickly changed from form to form, the manacle stretching or shrinking to hold him snugly. He lay there, in his human form, completely drained.  
  
"It doesn't matter if you take my powers or not. I don't have anything left," Severus gasped, exhausted.  
  
He looked up into Clautius's face, eyes widening fractionally at the evil grin. "At this point, my dear, I don't care. You are going to be punished." He pinned Severus to the floor. "You made your choice, my dear." He ripped into Severus, pounding him against the floor.  
  
*NOOOOOOOO!!!!!* Severus screamed and screamed. Over and over, harder and harder, Clautius slammed into him, ripping him inside. Agony spiked through Severus, more pain than he ever thought was possible. Tears streamed down his face, dripping onto the stone underneath him. Clautius grinned at him, evil twisting his features. Dimly, on the verge of unconsciousness, the features twisted into first Lucius then Voldemort's features. Severus's eyes snapped open, continuing to scream anew.  
  
Clautius finally finished, pulling out of Severus's abused body. He picked himself up and his robes appeared on him again. He strode from the room, and turned to face him from the doorway.  
  
"KRYEEK mureva HIshurlu!" he snapped, grinning evilly. Four enormous demons strode into the room, staring at him hungrily. ***  
  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he shrieked, sitting bolt upright in bed, tearing at his neck.  
  
"Uncle Sev! It's all right, you're safe!" He opened his eyes to see Ginny, Draco and Harry sitting on his bed, all three of them holding his shoulders, trying to restrain his from hurting himself.  
  
"Wha- What happened?" he gasped, falling back onto his pillow. "Where am I?" he asked, staring around him in confusion.  
  
"You're in your room. We heard you screaming, hell the whole school heard you. What happened?" Xander asked, walking over from where he had been standing to sit on the end of Severus's bed. Alanna and the other demigods and demigoddesses stood in a semicircle around his bed. Remus stood next to James.  
  
"Clautius- I was there, instead of Laurel, but in her body and he ra- ra- shit!" he swore, disgusted with his complete lack of control. "He hurt her but it was me and, Remus, your mutt is alive and tried to save my life and..." he trailed off, dangerously close to tears.  
  
Remus gasped, sinking to the floor. Tears clouded his vision. "Siri is alive?" he whispered.  
  
Harry conjured a glass of water and handed it to Severus. Severus gratefully gulped it down and continued. "He - he- oh my GOD he-" tears finally dripped down his face. He let out a strangled sob. Harry, Draco, Ginny and Lily held him, soothing him.  
  
"Sev, please calm down, please calm down," Lily soothed, gently rubbing his back. Severus turned his face blindly into her shoulder, sobbing openly. He dimly heard the door open and close as everyone else left his bedchambers to sit in his living room, giving him some needed privacy.  
  
"Uncle Sev, can you tell us what happened?" Ginny asked, holding his hand.  
  
Severus looked at her with red rimmed eyes. "I don't think you really want to know," he ground out.  
  
Harry looked at him. "It can't be worse than what I went through, Uncle Sev," he quietly told him. Severus nodded and they linked minds.  
  
They sat in silence, numbly seeing what he had gone through. Lily's arms around her brother tightened. *Oh my GOD* was the only thought running through their minds. After what seemed like hours, they drew apart, trembling.  
  
"Sev, are you all right? I mean, will you be all right?" Lily asked, searching his face. He gulped and nodded. Draco reached for his bathrobe and handed it to him without question. He stood up, drawing the robe around his half naked frame. Harry and Draco supported him and they walked out into his living room.  
  
James stood against the wall, eyes troubled. He was trying to comfort the still sobbing Remus. "But James, Siri is alive! We HAVE to go get him! If it were Lily in there, you'd be there in a heartbeat. We have to go NOW!"  
  
Alanna hugged the sobbing werewolf. "We can't just go in there. Clautius is too powerful and he'd kill us all, and then were would your mate be? Still there. We have to plan this." She paced the length of the floor.  
  
"She's right. Clautius took a full power attack and he laughed. It was unreal," Severus stated, wincing as he sat in his favorite leather chair. "Alanna, whatever happens, you can't go with us to rescue them," he continued once he was seated.  
  
"Why the hell not?" she asked angrily.  
  
"Because he would use any rescue attempt to regain control over you." Severus closed his eyes, rubbing a tired hand across the bridge of his nose. "He told me - Laurel - that I - SHE was just an appetizer, something to fill the blank while he found a way to get you back."  
  
Alanna turned white and sat down on Xander's lap. "Love, I promise, he will NEVER hurt you again," Xander promised his mate.  
  
"You can promise your mate that, but you won't get my or Severus's mate back!" Remus yelled, again near hysterics.  
  
"Remus, we have to train and plan. Severus is right about Clautius's strength. In all honesty, Harry and Draco are the only ones with a chance to defeat him, and that is only once their bond has been completed." Gaila spoke up from the corner where she had sat down.  
  
Harry glared at her. Draco noticed him glaring and cocked an eyebrow. Ginny just stared at them both as is they were insane. Severus just shook his head. "Honestly, we do have to figure out what we are going to do. Sirius was in no immediate danger, but Laurel is, well-" James interrupted him angrily.  
  
"Snivellus, what the fuck do you know about immediate danger? He's in HELL, you moron!"  
  
Severus whipped around, a sneer twisting his features. He was about to fire off a retort, when, "JAMES GARETH POTTER!!!!!!!" Lily screamed, infuriated. "OUTSIDE, NOW!!!!!!" She grabbed James's arm and yanked him outside into the hallway.  
  
The room went deathly silent as they listened in on her reaming James out for saying that. "POTTER!!" she screamed, clearly audible. Severus's mouth twitched as he suppressed a laugh.  
  
"Lily, dearest, don't you think you-" They heard something crash into a wall.  
  
"I AM NOT OVERREACTING!!!! NOW, you will apologize to my BROTHER or you will lose the ability to procreate!!!!" she snarled.  
  
"All right, all right, just- OW!!! GET YOUR CLAWS AWAY FROM THERE, HARPY!!!!!" he shrieked in pain and bolted back into the room, Lily hot on his heels.  
  
Severus watched him dive behind his chair and came up next to him. "So sorry, Snape, think you could forgive me before she takes away the family jewels?" Severus stared at his white, strained face. Three angry claw marks adorned his left cheek.  
  
"Ummm..." Severus pondered the offer.  
  
"Listen to me, Severus, if you do not agree to a ceasefire between yourself and my idiot of a husband, you both will lose valuable pieces of equipment," Lily growled.  
  
"That cinches it. James Potter, I accept your apologies, as I do wish to still be able to have children." Severus extended his hand.  
  
James eagerly took his hand and shook it. "Likewise, mate, likewise." Harry sat there and laughed quietly, his mother winking at him.  
  
Alanna sat on the couch, wrapped in Xander's arms. "So, we are agreed then? We will call the leaders of our children to Hogwarts and will have them map out Clautius's realm for us, as well as get messages back and forth. Is everyone agreeable?" There were nods around the room.  
  
Remus crossed his arms over his chest. "I guess," he said doubtfully.  
  
"All right, then, we'll go call them. Hopefully, they'll arrive in the morning." Alanna and Xander stood, ending the pow wow. As one, the whole group filed out, leaving Harry, Draco, Ginny, Lily, James, Remus and Severus still sitting there, talking quietly.  
  
"Do you really think we'll get them back?" asked Remus quietly.  
  
"I don't honestly know. I hit him with everything I had and he LAUGHED. He laughed at it. True he was picking himself out of the wall, but he was still laughing, and he still ra- ra- hurt me afterwards. I even shifted form and he still found me. It was terrifying," Severus said, horribly shaken. He let out a shuddering breath.  
  
"You three have Quidditch practice in ten hours. I suggest you get back to sleep," he told Harry, Draco and Ginny. Lily, James and Remus took this as their cue to leave as well. The teenagers stubbornly shook their heads.  
  
"We want to make sure you are all right," Harry stubbornly replied, Draco and Ginny vehemently agreeing with him.  
  
"I am fine," he tried to reassure them. They stubbornly shook their heads, disagreeing with them.  
  
"Sleepover in Snape's Quarters!" Draco yelled, pulling a pillow from midair and bashing Harry over the head with it.  
  
"Ummm, that is not necessary, please, don't- NOT THE VASE!" Severus yelled as Ginny slammed a pillow into Draco, who knocked over a vase created in the Ming Dynasty. Harry dove for it with his quick reflexes and caught it three inches from the floor, Draco landing on his back on top of him.  
  
"OW!" grunted Harry, Draco still lying on top of him. "Get off me!"  
  
Draco rolled off of him, laughing. "What? I'm not that heavy!"  
  
Harry snickered, slowly getting up. *You walked into this one...* "Are you sure, lard ass? You felt heavy to me..."  
  
Draco scowled at him and tackled him, effectively slamming him back onto the floor, Draco muttering about god damn Gryffindors and their stupid sense of humor. Harry struggled against him, effectively flipping him over. Severus and Ginny watched, amused as they wrestled on the floor, laughing and panting.  
  
"HA! Pinned you!" Harry yelled triumphantly. Alanna walked back into the room, snickering at the sight of Harry straddling Draco, both if them laughing hysterically.  
  
"Am I interrupting anything?" she asked, staring at them with a smirk on her face.  
  
"Nope!" Harry replied, still laughing. "What's up?"  
  
"We got a hold of Claudette, Lucas, Tatyana, Orion, Elei'n, Anowyn, Xavier, Samantha, Lorien, Shareena, Byron and Havanna. They are coming to Hogwarts with their respective councils in the morning." She sat down and made herself comfortable on Severus's leather couch next to Ginny.  
  
"Who are they? I mean, I know Claudette, but the others..." Harry trailed off, slightly confused.  
  
"Claudette is the Queen of both the Vampire and Drow nations. Lucas is her mate and chosen consort. You met him at the party briefly. Tatyana and Orion are the rulers of the Veela nation, and Elei'n and Anowyn are the King and Queen of the Elven Nation. Xavier and Samantha are Clan leaders of the Werewolves, and Lorien and Shareena are the Faerie Emperor and Empress. Lastly, Byron and Havanna are the leaders of the Dragonkin. They will be arriving in eight hours with their entourages." Alanna stood up and walked to the door. "Now that you know, I have to go inform Dumbledore of what will be happening. Good night, you four." With that, she walked out the door.  
  
Harry stared at the closed door. "Did she say the Dragons, Elves, Veela, Werewolves, Drow and Vampires are coming here?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.  
  
"You forgot the Faerie folk as well," supplied Ginny helpfully. Draco rolled his eyes.  
  
Severus sat on his chair, wracking his brain for a way to get rid of his wanted yet unwanted roommates. *On one hand, I value my privacy, yet I could use the company. I have no idea what might happen if I fall asleep again.* He stared at his godson, nephew, and the girl he had come to think of as his niece. *Lily was the only one who cared enough to stay with me when I had nightmares after my mother died. This is so strange...*  
  
Ginny picked up on his train of thought. "Oh Uncle Sev, we're here because we care. If you really don't want us here, just tell us. We understand. Really, it's all right. Come on guys, let's go." She stood up, ready to shoo her 'brothers' out the door.  
  
Severus watched them go with a mixture of relief and sadness. "Oh, by the way, Uncle Sev," Harry said, leaning in the doorway. "We are here if you need anything." Harry grinned, and Severus felt a vague mental link cement between himself and his three favorite students. *Good night. Yell if you need us.* Harry closed the portrait.  
  
They walked back down to the Slytherin Dorms in silence, terribly worried about Severus. Harry and Draco bid Ginny good night and she disappeared into the Girls' Dorms. Harry and Draco wearily trudged over to their dorm room. They crawled into bed and were instantly asleep.  
  
  
  
The next morning at ten o'clock, Harry and Draco awoke to the sounds of Ginny and Emily pounding on their door. "GET UP!!!!" Emily roared, finally bursting through their door and jumping on Eric's bed.  
  
Eric shot out of bed. "MUM! I swear I didn't do it!" he yelped, diving under his blanket. Emily giggled and reached under the blanket, pulling him out by his hair.  
  
"Awww, is ickle Eric scared? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you... much," she said with a decidedly evil grin. She gently patted his cheek, noticing that his eyes had completely glazed over. She turned, and, winking at the very bemused Harry, Draco and Ginny, tickled him unmercifully.  
  
"AWWW- OHH HAHAHAHA –stop- please stop – HAHAHAHA- ohhhh- stop" Eric howled, tears streaming down his face. Suddenly, he grabbed Emily around the waist, pinning her underneath him. She flipped him off of her, and they tumbled to the floor, continuing to wrestle.  
  
Ginny sat cross legged on Harry's bed, watching the tickling turned wrestling match avidly. "You know, we did come in here to tell you that, not only is Quidditch practice in an hour, but the reigning monarchs of the various other nonhuman nations are here. They want to meet you two." Ginny yawned, apparently bored by what she had just said.  
  
Harry and Draco shot each other looks of extreme desperation and shock. *OH SHIT* they thought in unison, dashing madly for the bathroom to shower and change. Ginny just watched, amused, as Emily and Eric forgot all about wrestling and opted to exuberantly kiss each other instead as soon as Harry and Draco had left the room.  
  
Ten minutes later, Harry and Draco were suitably showered and changed. They stumbled back into their room to see their other dorm mate happily making out with the girl of his numerous –wet- dreams. Harry smirked as he stepped over the oblivious couple on the floor. "Ginny, are you ready?" he asked, pulling his 'sister' to her feet.  
  
Ginny grinned and nudged Emily with her boot. "Hey, Em? You coming or do you have more important things to do?" She stared at her now closest friend.  
  
Emily broke from kissing Eric long enough to smirk at Ginny. "I think I'm needed here," she said before reclaiming Eric's mouth as her own. Harry and Draco snickered and dragged Ginny out of their room and into the Common room. They quickly exited the Slytherin Dorms and apparated directly into the Great Hall.  
  
Harry stood, awestruck, at the sight of the magical beings that waited in the Great Hall. He saw Claudette and the man he had met at his party- *Lucas* he thought to himself sitting at the Gryffindor table. Beside him, Draco nodded imperceptibly. Sitting next to Claudette and Lucas were two of the most beautiful beings Harry had ever seen. The man- *Lorien* Harry guessed correctly, stood about five foot four and had enormous silver almost butterfly wings that were attached at his shoulder blades. His *Mate? Wife?* Harry wondered, *Shareena* had gold wings that dwarfed her four foot eight frame. Seated at the Gryffindor table were a blond haired man and a raven haired woman, who were intently conversing with two, a man and a woman, immensely beautiful Veela. *Ok, the two Veela are Tatyana and Orion, but I have no idea who the other two are.* Harry turned and saw a tall, stately Elf and his equally stately wife seated at the Ravenclaw Table. *Eli'en and Anowyn are at the Ravenclaw table* he informed Draco and Ginny a bit unnecessarily. Lastly, Alanna and Xander were talking intently to two human sized Dragons in the center of the room. Severus, Lily, James, Remus and all the other Demigods and Demigoddesses were sitting in various places, talking quietly.  
  
"Um, Alanna? You said you wanted to see us?" Harry asked politely. Within the blink of an eye, everyone stared at him and Draco. As one, the various leaders of the nonhuman nations rose from their seats and strode towards him. Harry watched, awestruck, as they stood in front of him in a perfect semicircle. Without any warning, they knelt in front of him as one.  
  
"My Lord, we pledge our lives and the lives of our people to your cause. Do with us as you see fit." Those words were spoken by all twelve of the monarchs.  
  
Harry gaped at them, completely confused and bewildered. "Alanna, what is going on?" he asked in a small voice.  
  
Alanna smiled at his confusion. "Harry, you're the Leader of this battle. You are going to defeat Clautius. No one else can; you are THE ONE. Therefore, you are in charge."  
  
Harry stared at her incredulously. "I-WHAT???" He stared at the genuflecting monarchs. "Thank you for your support. I am deferring to Alanna in this case because she has more experience in matters of war, as I am only sixteen. So, ummm, Alanna, a little help here?"  
  
Draco grinned. *Harry, repeat after me. 'I accept your lives and the lives of your people as my vassals and I as their protector and Lord. My will shall be the greater good for your people and the greater good in this battle.* Hesitantly, Harry spoke those words. A deep green glow surrounded him and expanded to encompass everyone kneeling in front of him.  
  
Alanna stared at him proudly. "Thank you Draco, for the appropriate Bonding Incantation." Harry stared at her, still in shock. As one, the monarchs stood. "Now then, let's get down to business, people," she ordered briskly. They walked over to the Gryffindor Table and sat down, eager to get the meeting underway.  
  
  
  
Three hours later, the visitors had left and a plan was in place. The Vampires, Werewolves, and Drow would completely map Clautius's realm as well as pass information back and forth between Sirius, Remus and James. The Dragons, Faeries, Veela, and Elves would mass the best of their armies for additional training to prepare for the rescue mission. Hopefully, if all went according to plan, they wouldn't need the armies, but better safe than sorry.  
  
Harry, Draco, Ginny and James walked slowly to the Quidditch Pitch, brooms in hand. The practice had been rescheduled to start at two o'clock, and they were early. Listlessly, Harry mounted his broom and took off, flying in a vague circular pattern that extended over the Forbidden Forest.  
  
*Harry, come on. Snap out of it,* Draco ordered, concerned.  
  
Harry turned to stare at him, a dazed look in his eyes. *Why me? What the HELL is wrong with me that I have to save everyone?* He was so out of it that he almost fell off his broom. Draco jolted forward, catching him and lowering them both to the ground. James and Ginny rushed over to them, terribly worried.  
  
"Harry, what's wrong?" Ginny asked, darting forward to gently pull Harry from his broom.  
  
"I just don't feel well, that's all" Harry mumbled, sitting on the grass. James shook his shoulder, pulling his son onto his lap. Harry leaned his head into his –now adult- father's shoulder, closing his eyes. "It's all so weird. I had the reigning monarchs of seven nations pledging their lives to me. That was really creepy. Plus, I can feel their magic now, slipping in and out of mine. It's making me feel funny."  
  
Draco trailed a hand along Harry's temple, sliding his mind further into his soul mates. *Damn, you're right, that does feel strange,* he commented, cautiously lowering his shields to feel the conjoined magic that surrounded Harry. *It feels really invasive, and not at all natural. I'm sorry I gave you the incantation, Harry.*  
  
Harry sighed. *It's all right, Draco. I'll just live with it, like everything else that has happened in my screwed up life.* James tightened his arms around his son, having heard the last bit Harry had thought.  
  
The rest of the team wandered onto the Pitch and stopped, confused as to why there was a group hug happening in the middle of the field. Emily simply kept walking and sat down next to Ginny, pulling her now boyfriend Eric with her. Ginny slid an arm around Emily's shoulders. "So, Eric, what brings you to practice?" Ginny asked calmly.  
  
"Um, I didn't want to be separated from my girlfriend?" he said sheepishly, turning the statement into a question. Ginny laughed, drawing Emily into the group hug.  
  
Madam Hooch walked over to them and put her hands on her hips. "Are you five quite finished? We have a practice that we delayed for YOU, Mr. Potter," she stopped, glaring at them, "the BOTH of you!" Harry and James looked at each other and shrugged. They stood up gracefully, James reverting to his fourth year self. Hooch grimaced. "That is so STRANGE when you do that..." she commented, trailing off. She shook her head and blew her whistle. "Everyone get in the air, NOW! SPRINTS!"  
  
Everyone groaned, as practice with 'Battle Axe' had just started. They took to the skies for the next four hours.  
  
  
  
The next afternoon, in Experimental Potions, Severus had a surprise for them. "I know I let you pretty much have free reign in this class, but this time I need your help," he told his six students. "I need to make a completely new potion." He stopped talking and sat there, thinking about the possible ramifications of what he was suggesting, no pleading with them to help.  
  
The six of them stared at Severus as he sat there, lost in thought. "Um, Sir? Professor?" Emily asked, concerned.  
  
Severus shook his head and continued. "The potion is extremely dangerous and is probably illegal, but it may be the only thing that can save my soul mate from Clautius before we rescue her. What we need to make is a potion that will link a person's mind together permanently without going through the Bonding process."  
  
Everyone stared at him in shock. "Sev, are you really that squeamish about sex?" Lily asked, her eyes sparkling.  
  
Severus glared at her. "No, Lils, I'm not. I just can't get to her, and he's raping her and I HAVE TO DO SOMETHING!!!" he yelled, a lone tear sliding down his cheek. He collapsed heavily into his chair. "I have to do something, even if it's to take her mind from her body when it happens. It's all I can do, and I'll be damned if I don't try."  
  
Lily stood up and hugged her brother. "Of course we'll help, Sev. Has anyone ever tried this before?" she asked, all business.  
  
"Yes, and was given the Dementor's Kiss as a result." Severus replied, rubbing his eyes.  
  
Emily and Eric gulped, but nodded resolutely. "That's nice," Emily said. "When do we start?"  
  
Draco, Harry and Ginny nodded as well. "Well, first we have to research the properties of several plants and other ingredients for what to use, I assume you already have an idea?" Ginny asked Severus.  
  
Severus blinked. "Yes, I do, but you do realize that helping me makes you accessories to brewing an extremely illegal potion and could lead to time in Azkaban or worse."  
  
"Yes, yes, but this is important. We need a list of what you planned on using, and how it works, and ..." Ginny trailed off, furiously writing in a notebook. Severus stared at the determined faces in front of him and sighed.  
  
Turning, he began to organize the hastily scribbled notes he had strewn on his desk. "Thank you all for this," he quietly said as he began to pull his research into a semblance of order. "I already have several ideas..."  
  
They hastily got to work, knowing that time was of the essence.  
  
That whole week, none of them could concentrate on their other studies. They spent their free time in the dungeons, going over anything that might help them to create the potion. Harry, Draco, Eric and Emily were even excused from their NEWTS level work in order for research and then Potions experimentation.  
  
  
  
That Saturday, October 17th, they had their second game, Hogwarts versus Dragon's Fang in Beijing China. The fourteen team members stood in the Great Hall at ten o'clock, ready to Apparate under their own or another person's power. Harry, Draco, Ginny, Blaise and Seamus stood in a loose circle.  
  
Madam Hooch walked over to the five of them. "Are you ready?" she asked, nervously fiddling with her robes.  
  
"Yes, Madam Hooch," Harry replied, raising his aura. Draco and Ginny did the same, and, on her signal, Apparated the five of them right onto the Quidditch Field of Dragon's Fang. They stared around them in wonder as the rest of the team Apparated right beside them. Madam Hooch quickly found a student from Dragon's Fang and, conversing quietly with the boy in Chinese, had him lead them into the Guest Locker Rooms.  
  
Once in the locker room, she handed out what looked like a small hearing aid to everyone. "These are universal translators. You only get one, so I expect you to keep them safe. They will translate anything you hear into your native language. Don't let them fall out of your ear."  
  
"What?" asked Ron incredulously. "You want us to put those weird things where?"  
  
Harry sighed and slipped his into his ear. "You think I can change the setting to Swahili so I can't understand his complaints?" he asked Draco drolly. They snickered quietly, ignoring Ron's amazed and hurt look.  
  
A loud roar interrupted them. Madam Hooch looked outside the door and motioned them out. "It's TIME! GO ON!" she yelled as they mounted their brooms and shot out of the room.  
  
They took to the sky, swooping over the Pitch. Harry looked in the stands and saw, to his delight that EVERY Hogwart's student was there, along with the Weaseleys, Narcissa Malfoy, and all the Professors. All the demigods and demigoddesses sat together. Gailia and Olivia were conspicuously absent, however.  
  
  
  
Gaila dragged Olivia through the streets of Beijing. "LIVVIE!!!! COME ON!!!!" she yelled, dragging Olivia by her robes.  
  
"Gabbers, we have to watch the game!!!!" Olivia protested, trying to pull herself from Gaila's death grip.  
  
"ANIME!!!! The convention has to be around here somewhere..." Gaila anxiously scanned the streets.  
  
Olivia's ears perked up at that beautiful word. "Anime? Why didn't you say so! MegaTokyo!!!! Let's go!" They raced down the street, Quidditch forgotten in their manic glee.  
  
  
  
Minerva McGonagall waved a Hogwart's pennant as they swooped by her seat. Severus sat next to a slightly green looking Lily.  
  
"Dad, what's wrong with Mum?" Harry asked, falling back to talk to James.  
  
"I dunno, Harry. She was fine before breakfast, but the sight of food had her green and running for the bathroom." James scratched his head. Harry shook his head, confused, as they all landed on the Pitch next to the Referee.  
  
"Now, I want a clean game. Captains, shake hands," the Referee commanded in heavily accented English.  
  
Harry grinned. "The translator is working just fine." He and Draco shook hands with the Co captains of the other team, two twin girls, the Beaters, which looked to be in their seventh year. Their scarlet and gold robes with a large green Dragon in the center sparkled and shimmered in the sunlight.  
  
The Referee tossed the Bludgers and the Snitch into the air, and finally the Quaffle. Harry quickly snagged the Quaffle and sped towards the goal. He passed backwards blindly, knowing Draco was right behind him. Draco shot past him, Quaffle in hand and, as the Goalie reached to catch his shot, Ginny intercepted and flicked it into the furthest Goal. The Commentator roared "Hogwarts GOALLLLLL!!!"  
  
The Goalie quickly passed the Quaffle to the lead chaser and they shot back down the Pitch. Emily barely managed to deflect the Quaffle from the goal and shot it back to Harry. They raced down the Pitch –again-, and this time the Goalie was able to deflect the Quaffle and pass it to the Chasers.  
  
Damien and Nicholai had a hell of a time trying to keep the Bludgers from hitting their teammates. It seemed that these other Beaters had the same kind of connection that they had as soul mates. *Oh hell, Nick, this is getting unreal,* Damien commented as they slammed yet another Bludger to target the other team. *This team is incredibly good. They're much better than those damn Beaubaxtons gits that cried when you hit them.*  
  
*I must agree, Dami, these player are much better. So, any ideas?* Nicholai asked back.  
  
*I don't care WHAT you do, just do it quick! We're only up by 60 points and Dragon's Fang just scored!* James stared at them angrily.  
  
*I'm so sorry, Your Highness, perhaps if you caught the Snitch?* they mocked in unison. James flipped them the bird and resumed his avid search for the elusive Snitch.  
  
He found it ten minutes later, when the score was 60 to 50 in favor of Hogwarts. Swearing colorfully, he slammed the annoying Seeker for the other team away from his side and concentrated solely on trying to grasp the damn golden ball. The other boy quickly shot into his side, also reaching for that damn elusive Snitch. James discretely elbowed the other Seeker and snagged a wing. He spiraled down, snitch in hand.  
  
The stands filled with Hogwart's students, faculty and friends erupted in cheers as they watched their team pull off another spectacular win of 210 to 50.  
  
  
  
On Tuesday, Harry and Draco sat in Runes, barely paying attention to the lecture. Instead, they were focused on learning the proper incantations to the Blood Binding Ritual, tweaking them so that Harry wouldn't wind up related to Draco when they both bonded to Ginny. *I swear, Dray, this is ridiculous. I don't see how we'll NOT wind up related. Once one of us has bonded to her, then the other will automatically become bonded as both her brother and brother to the first bonder!*  
  
*I don't think that's how it works, Harry. I think the blood binder only binds Ginny's blood to the binder, not both.* Draco massaged his temples, praying fervently that the stress headache he could feel building would dissipate.  
  
*But if her blood is now the binder's blood... Unless it were done simultaneously, THAT WOULD WORK!* Harry's shout knocked Draco out of his self induced daze.  
  
*What? POTTER! What the HELL are you yelling about?* Draco's head exploded in a full blown migraine.  
  
*I figured it out. We can use the same ceremony, but have to incant it at the same time or else it won't work.* Harry excitedly started to shove his books into his bags.  
  
*Good for you- wait, you figured it out???* Draco leapt out of his chair, all pain forgotten. *So, spill!*  
  
*I already told you, weren't you paying attention?* Harry asked in exasperation.  
  
*So sorry, I was trying to stop a killer migraine. You were saying?* Draco and Harry walked out of class, completely ignoring the sad look Hermione had on her face.  
  
*If we do the incantation at the same time, it should work. There's nothing in the spell that says they'll react badly.*  
  
*WOW.* Laughing, Harry and Draco apparated to the Wandless and Elemental Magic class. They appeared, still laughing, in the middle of the room. Alanna and Xander looked at them strangely but refused to comment.  
  
*Harry, Draco, I want you to still work on your animal transformations. I need you to find your animal. Get to work, you two.* Still grinning, Harry and Draco sat for almost half an hour, completely ignoring everyone else that had come into the room.  
  
Alanna worked exclusively with Ginny, training her powers, while Xander and Severus worked with everyone else on training their elemental powers. Harry and Draco were oblivious to it all, instead focused in intense meditation.  
  
Sighing, Harry broke his concentration and lounged against the beanbag chair he had been sitting in front of. He stared at Draco, who was still concentrating on finding his 'inner animal'. *He looks like a silver wolf... my silver wolf...* he thought absently.  
  
Draco surfaced from his meditation to see Harry lounging on the bean bag, staring at him with unreadable eyes. *He looks like a huge panther... looks cuddly, but a hidden, deadly strength that you don't see until it is far too late...* Draco shook his head, amazed at the sudden, stray thought.  
  
Harry raised his eyebrows. *A panther? Me?* he asked his soul mate.  
  
Draco shrugged, sending him the image of an enormous black panther with emerald green eyes.  
  
*If you say so, Wolf...* Harry sent him an image of a silver wolf with ice blue eyes.  
  
*A wolf? Me?* Draco asked. Harry just nodded.  
  
Staring at each other, they began to change, trusting their soul mates' judgment. The conversations in the room stopped as everyone watched with their breath held, afraid to even move.  
  
Harry could feel fur sprouting from his body, and claws shoot from his fingers. Emitting a small growl, his vision changed and grew sharper. A tail shot from his spine as he fell forward onto his hands and feet. Lifting his head, he sniffed the air. *Oh wow, this is so COOL!* he thought happily, prowling around the classroom. Alanna conjured a mirror and he padded over to it. An ebony panther with emerald eyes and a silver marking on its chest stared back.  
  
Draco stared at his hands, which were rapidly becoming paws. Silver paws. He felt a tail erupt from his lower back, and he wagged it experimentally. Silver fur sprouted all over his body and he shakily stood up on all fours, trotting over to the mirror. He stared at his reflection in surprise. Ice blue eyes and silver fur stared back at him.  
  
Impulsively, Harry nipped Draco's tail and immediately darted away. Harry and Draco ran out of the room, chasing each other down the hall. Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, they apparated out of the hall.  
  
Harry and Draco found themselves next to the lake. Ignoring the questions that arose form how they could apparate while in their Animagi forms, they continued to play. They darted in and out of the Forbidden forest, having the time of their lives.  
  
Severus quickly took his raven form and flew out of the window to find them. Alanna and Xander, wishing they could join them, corralled their students back to learning about their powers.  
  
Severus landed on a tree near where his godson and nephew were wrestling and watched indulgently as they mock fought. He didn't have the heart to tell them to stop.  
  
  
  
Over the next several days, Alanna and Harry planned the Halloween Party that would happen the 31st. Coincidentally, their third game would happen that morning.  
  
Harry, Alanna and Severus went shopping Thursday evening after Quidditch practice. They bought party decorations, and Harry bought a state of the art stereo system for the Chamber. Severus disappeared into a liquor store and reemerged half an hour later with six enormous bags. He and Alanna shared a grin at the incredible amount of liquor they expected to consume.  
  
Harry and Alanna walked into the Chamber of Secrets Friday afternoon after their Wandless and Elemental Magic class. She stood in the center of the room, calmly surveying the wreckage of the chamber being used as the hangout for rowdy teenagers. "I like the pool tables, but we need more room, and a bar..." She started rearranging the furniture.  
  
Harry and she spent the next two hours putting the pool tables on one side of the room next to a conjured bar. She then proceeded to stock the bar with two bottles of Everclear, three bottles of Vodka, two bottles of Bailey's Irish Crème, four bottles of Ogden's Firewhiskey, two bottles of Bacardi 151, three bottles of Jamaican Rum, two bottles of Kahlua, and three bottles of Scotch. Harry set up the stereo system on a shelf on the other side of the room, and dispersed the speakers around the Chamber.  
  
Severus set up seven vats of dry ice around the Chamber floor and enchanted them to stay frozen until the night of the party. Alanna put up a strobe light in one of the far corners of the room after assuring Harry that the strobe light would have really cool effects. Harry sincerely doubted that, after an hour, anyone would appreciate the decorations.  
  
They finished putting the decorations into place and then Harry sealed the Chamber, effectively keeping anyone from entering until the party.  
  
  
  
The next week went by quickly. Harry and the rest of the Experimental Potions class, in an effort to make the linking potion, created three new aphrodisiacs, seven hallucinogens, and five other potions of which they were not sure of the effects. Harry, Draco, Ginny, and Severus made multiples of each potion, with the purpose of distributing them at the Halloween Party.  
  
On the 30th, which was Friday, during Wandless and Elemental Magic class, Harry and Draco finally cornered Ginny.  
  
"Um, Ginny? You got a minute?" Draco asked nervously.  
  
"Yes, Draco?" she asked, not really paying attention.  
  
"Ginny, we would be honored-" Harry began, pulling out the tome with the ritual in it.  
  
"If you would complete-" Draco continued  
  
"The Blood Binding Ritual," Harry and Draco finished in unison.  
  
Ginny's eyes widened and she whipped around to stare at them. "I- WHAT???" She yelped, startled. She snatched the tome out of Harry's hands and scanned the pages eagerly. "YOU FOUND IT!!!" she screeched, throwing her arms around Harry and Draco's necks.  
  
Harry and Draco hugged her hard. "Yep, so how do you think it'll feel to be both a Potter and a Malfoy?"  
  
"Just great," she whispered, grinning.  
  
  
  
A/N: Ok, so, yeah, there it was. So, what'd you think? Bad Bad Snape, buying alcohol for minors and making hallucinogens... I wish my teachers had been that cool.... anyway, chapter 17 should be up soon. 


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: to everyone who reviewed, thank you very much, to virvidian... you dirty mind you! but, thanks for the idea... might have to incorporate that into another idea of mine..... but yeah, onto the damn story....  
  
Chapter 17  
  
Saturday morning, Severus, anxious for the Co captains to get ready for their home game against Durmstrung, wandered into the Boy's Dorms to wake up Harry and Draco. He quietly opened the door and walked over to Draco's bed. He grasped the covers and pulled on them, already shaking the shoulder under the blankets.  
  
"Draco, wake up. The game starts in two hours and you need to warm up and eat breakfast... GINNY???" He stared at the sleepy redhead in shock. "What're you doing in Draco's bed???"  
  
Ginny sat up and stretched, yawning. "Harry had another- AHHAHH ahh- nightmare, a really bad one. His uncle again. Draco is sleeping next to him. It was the only way he could get back to sleep..." Severus scowled, a truly terrifying sight.  
  
"When I get my hands on that perverted fuck up..." he growled. " I swear I'm gonna kill him and it'll be the -"  
  
"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" a terrified scream came from across the room. Severus and Ginny blanched and shot over to Harry's bed. They yanked back the curtains to see Draco sitting up, cradling Harry in his arms. Harry was thrashing and sobbing, trying to curl into a ball as far away from Draco as possible.  
  
"Shhh." Draco held him in place and stroked his back tenderly. *Harry, it's just a dream. Wake up, Harry. Come on, wake up.* Draco soothed.  
  
Severus and Ginny sat down, opening their shields. *Harry, come on brother/nephew, wake up,* they thought in unison, rubbing his shoulders.  
  
In the third bed, Eric sat bolt upright at the sounds of Harry's shrieks. "Oh HELL!" he swore vehemently, crawling out of bed. He walked unnoticed out of the room and reappeared several minutes later with Emily, Lily, James, Remus and Blaise in tow.  
  
Draco, Severus and Ginny kept soothing Harry, trying to pull him out of the nightmare. Blaise and Remus sat down on Draco's now empty bed. Emily and Eric decided to bid each other good morning in a much more interesting way than speaking and started making out on Eric's bed. Not one paid any attention to them. Harry stopped screaming and just lay there in the fetal position, whimpering. Lily and James rushed over to their son and gently pulled him from Draco's arms.  
  
"Hey!" Draco protested.  
  
"I'm his mother," Lily admonished him. "I haven't been there to save him from the abuse, please let me comfort my son!" Draco lay back on the pillow, sulking.  
  
"And I'm his soul mate," he grumbled under his breath. "Doesn't that mean anything?"  
  
James shot him a look over the messy mop of ebony hair cradled in between him and his wife. "Yes, that counts for something. But, imagine if you would be so kind, how we feel right now? This is our fault. If we had been there for him growing up, none of this would have happened." He rocked Harry back and forth. "Come on, Harry, we've got you. It's safe now, we promise," James soothed.  
  
Harry slowly opened his eyes, tears still falling freely down his face. He blinked sleepily at his mother, pain clouding his vision.  
  
"Harry, what did you see?" Lily asked gently.  
  
Harry shook his head and just lay there, safe in his parents' arms. "I - I don't want to talk about it," he mumbled, burying his face in his mother's shoulder, tears still streaming down his face. Lily and James exchanged worried glances over his bowed head. They tightened their grasp on their nearly inconsolable son.  
  
*Harry?* Draco asked, concerned.  
  
*Draco?* Harry replied.  
  
*Are you all right?* Draco asked him, grasping his hand in a show of support.  
  
Harry lifted his head and weakly smiled. *You know what it was about because you were there, so yes I'll be all right, and no, I don't want to talk about it.*  
  
Draco sighed. *You know that bottling it up inside will only make your nightmares worse, right?*  
  
*I know, but I feel so weird talking to my parents. They blame themselves for what happened to me. It's not their fault. They couldn't help that Voldemort killed them. He's a demon, and the Killing curse kills demigods and mortals alike. I've survived this long on my own, and don't get me wrong, I love my parents, but I'm 16, not 4. I can deal with this.*  
  
*You never should have had to deal with this, Harry.* Draco wracked his brain for a way to explain this to his soul mate. *The fact that they haven't been there is through no fault of their own. Let them in. They want what's best for you, and they aren't treating you like a 4 year old, most of the time. I'm not quite sure about now, though.* Draco shot a small glare at Lily and James.  
  
*Relax, Draco. Down!* Harry laughed mentally. Draco stuck his tongue out at him, making Harry laugh even harder. James and Lily stared at his shaking shoulders, concerned.  
  
"Um, Harry, are you all right?" Lily asked tentatively.  
  
"Harry? Are you sure you don't want to talk to us?" James asked, rubbing his son's back.  
  
Harry sat up, tears of mirth rolling down his face. His parents stared at him in shock. "Sorry, Mum, Dad, Draco said something funny," Harry explained, rolling his eyes. He sat up and leaned back against the pillows next to his soul mate.  
  
Draco mock glared at him, and turned his nose up with a delicate sniff. "Fine, be that way. See if I help you next time you're screaming you head off, Potter." Draco stood up, dumping Harry on the floor in the process. Harry sat on the floor in only his boxers.  
  
"HEY!" protested Harry, rubbing his now sore butt. "And you will too help me, if only to get yourself out of my nightmares." Draco stared at him and smirked, walking into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.  
  
Harry stood up and quickly ran to the bathroom door, ignoring the kissing couple and Ginny's giggles. "Hey, Dipwad! I have to get in there too, you know!"  
  
Draco opened the door. "Hello, Moron, the door is unlocked. You could just walk in. Oh yeah, that's right. You're slow on the uptake." Harry grumbled under his breath and pushed past Draco, disappearing into the bathroom. Draco grinned and closed the door again.  
  
Lily and James stared at the bathroom door in confusion. "Are they always like that?" Lily asked Severus.  
  
"Oh yes. They can't live without sniping at each other. At least this time they don't mean it. This time last year, they'd have killed each other over the insults and the little display we saw. At the very least, it would have ended in a fistfight." Severus shook his head and stood up. He walked over to Eric's bed and dumped his other two favorite students on the floor.  
  
"HEY!" they yelled in unison.  
  
"Breakfast is in twenty minutes, Miss George and Mr. McKnight. I expect to see you there. So quit exploring each others' mouths and get ready." Severus, Lily, James and Remus walked from the room, leaving their students to get ready for the game.  
  
"You really mean it?" Lily asked Severus as they walked out the door. "Then how in hell can they be soul mates? They'll kill each other!"  
  
"Lily, remember how you and James used to act? The saying 'opposites attract' is very true. I shudder to think of how Laurel might act..." Blaise and Eric stared at their House Head in confusion as the adults exited the Dorms.  
  
Emily and Ginny just rolled their eyes and walked out of the room, heading back to their rooms to get ready for the day. Eric walked into the bathroom after Harry and Draco, hoping to God he wasn't interrupting anything.  
  
Thankfully, for Eric, they were in separate showers.  
  
  
  
Exactly twenty minutes later, Harry, Draco, Eric, Emily and Ginny strolled into the Great Hall for breakfast. They sat down at the Slytherin table next to Seamus, Neville, and Luna, who were already in the middle of eating. Harry grabbed a plate and dug in. After about five minutes, he finally looked around and noticed the decorations.  
  
Jack-o-Lanterns hovered in midair, lighting the Hall. A gigantic spider web covered the walls, and conjured spiders crawled around the web and dangled in midair. Harry could just imagine Ron's reaction to all things eight legged and wondered where the arachnophobic Gryffindor was. Live bats flew around the Hall in a mad frenzy. An eerie mist covered the floor, and Harry could almost be certain that there were rats scurrying around in the mist. He felt something brush his ankle at least twice while he was eating, and something ghosted by his ankle yet again at that very moment. He kicked, hard, and felt his foot connect with absolutely nothing except for the underside of the table. Draco stared at him strangely.  
  
"What?" asked Harry.  
  
"Why'd you kick the table?" Draco asked him.  
  
"I thought something touched my ankle." Harry took a long swig of Pumpkin Juice and stared at it, absently changing it to a Screwdriver. "Hey, how're we getting the invitations out?" Harry asked suddenly. He watched with great interest as Dumbledore, McGonagall, and the other teachers with the exceptions of Severus, his parents, Alanna and Xander left the Great Hall.  
  
Draco sat still for a minute. "Ummmm... let's see. I know that we can let everyone know by word of mouth, or we could send out the invitations immediately..." Draco trailed off, lost in thought.  
  
Harry elbowed him in the ribs. "Hey, how many people are we talking about? Who isn't invited?" he asked as soon as he had Draco's attention. Harry took a long swig of his Screwdriver, gasping as the Vodka hit his stomach. "Oh, that felt good..." he sighed happily.  
  
"No one under fourth year, as we will have alcohol and rather questionable drugs... WHAT ARE YOU DOING???" he screeched.  
  
Harry looked down at him from where he had climbed up onto the table. "What??" He turned and cast a quick "Sonorus" on his voice and yelled over the dull roar. "EVERYONE SHUT UP!!!!!!" The Hall went completely silent. Everyone turned to look at him. "NOW THAT I HAVE EVERYONE'S ATTENTION, THERE'S A PARTY IN THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS TONIGHT FROM 9PM UNTIL WHENEVER IT ENDS!!!!!!!! THE DRESS CODE IS SEXY COSTUME OR JUST PLAIN SEXY! FOURTH YEAR AND ABOVE ARE WELCOME TO COME, BUT ANYONE YOUNGER, IF THEY HAVE AN OLDER DATE, ARE WELCOME. ANYONE INTERESTED, PLEASE SEE ME AFTER THE GAME." Harry removed the Sonorus charm and sat back down. The Great Hall broke out into whispers.  
  
"Did that work?" Harry smugly asked. Draco just rolled his eyes.  
  
"Plebian." Draco went back to eating. Harry mocked him and tucked back into his breakfast. A loud thump next to him made him jump almost a foot in the air. He whipped around, his fist glowing, and relaxed just as quickly. Ron and Hermione had sat down next to him.  
  
"Harry?" Ron asked tentatively.  
  
"Yes?" Harry asked just as cautiously.  
  
"Did you mean that anyone can come?" Hermione asked from the other side of Ron. Ginny stiffened. Draco wrapped an arm around her comfortingly.  
  
"Yes, it did. Do you two want to come?" Harry asked, eyeing them suspiciously.  
  
Ron and Hermione nodded slowly. "And, we have something to say to Ginny. Ron!" Hermione added, elbowing her boyfriend in the ribs.  
  
Ron cleared his throat nervously and stared at the impassive, if not slightly hostile faces surrounding him. He turned to his sister, cringing at the pain and anguish in her eyes. "Gin, I'm so sorry. I've been shown the error of my ways, and I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry! Please forgive me! Mum even screamed at me for being an ass! She sent me a Howler, threatening to disown me if I don't stop acting like this! No one is mad at you, and everyone is completely pissed at me." Ron fell silent, waiting for his sister to say something.  
  
Ginny nodded and stood. "Draco, fix my robes, please." She started to transform, Draco quickly waving his hand to make her robes and clothing grow with her. She stalked over to Ron, who was staring at her in awe and fear. "You mean that you can accept me for who I am and not call me a freak or the bitch from hell?" she all but purred, coming around the other side of the table to stand behind Ron. Ron turned to face her.  
  
Ron shocked everyone with his next move. He stood quickly and wrapped his sister, demon form and all, in a bone crushing hug. "I'm so sorry, Gin. I've been a bastard and I don't deserve a wonderful sister like you." Ginny started to cry and slowly morphed back into her human form.  
  
"If you ever hurt me like that again..." Ginny trailed off, her voice breaking with emotion. Ron said nothing, just held her tightly in his arms. The entire Great Hall breathed a sigh of relief, with the exception of Professor Snape, Harry, Draco, Alanna and Xander.  
  
Harry and Draco exchanged worried glances over the table. Severus walked over from the Teacher's table, a grim expression on his face. "Mr. Weaseley, do you really mean that, or is this just some stupid prank?" Severus asked, scowling at Ron and Hermione.  
  
Ron jumped. "No- no Sir. I mean every word." He turned to stare the Potions Professor straight in the eye.  
  
"I would like a word with you two, then, Miss Granger and Mr. Weaseley. Follow me." Severus swept from the Hall. Hermione and Ron looked at each other fearfully and followed Severus meekly out of the Hall.  
  
Harry and Draco just stared at each other. "What time is it?" Harry asked finally.  
  
"It's almost 9:00. We have to get going to warm up for the game," Draco absently replied. Harry nodded and stretched, turning to Ginny.  
  
"Come one, everyone," Harry called as he stood up. "We have to go get ready for the game. It starts in an hour." He and Draco walked out of the Great Hall, their team mates falling into step behind them.  
  
Harry led the Hogwarts team to the locker room. After quickly changing into their practice gear, they took to the skies for warm ups. Ron finally showed up, looking queasy and pale. Harry, concerned that their backup Goalie wouldn't be able to play, asked him what was wrong.  
  
"Nothing," muttered Ron sullenly, still shaking. Harry left him alone after that.  
  
After almost forty five minutes of practice, Madam Hooch called them back into the locker rooms. "Come on! The Durmstrung team is here already!" she called anxiously. They quickly rushed to the locker rooms, stripping off their practice gear in the process. Harry quickly threw on his game robes. On either side of him, Draco and Ginny were doing the same.  
  
Once Harry had finished dressing, he turned to his team mates. "Ok, ladies and gents, you know the drill. No powers except telepathy, and no cheating- "  
  
Draco cut him off from where he was seated on a bench. "Unless they start it!" he finished, grinning. Harry elbowed him in the ribs. "Hey!" Draco gasped, laughing. "If they start it, we aren't going out without a fight, you idiot. Besides, I know that Durmstrung plays dirty. We have to be prepared."  
  
Sighing, Harry agreed. "True, they do play dirty, but I don't want us being called on anything illegal. So, we don't do anything until they foul us, and PLEASE be discrete." Everyone nodded in agreement, Draco included. "So, let's do this."  
  
"On three." Draco extended his hand.  
  
Everyone crowded around him, putting their hands in the center. "ONE, TWO, THREE, HOGWARTS!" the team screamed. Madam Hooch stuck her head out the locker room door.  
  
"Ok, everyone, this is it! Good luck and WIN!" she yelled, shooing them out the door. They mounted their brooms and shot out of the locker room onto the field. Harry and Draco led the team in a lap around the field to the cheers of the Hogwarts Student Body. Harry again saw his mother, in the stands, seated next to Severus Snape. And again, with an incredible sense of deja vu, she looked as if she was going to be sick at any minute.  
  
"Dad, I thought Mum was feeling better!" Harry protested, falling back to talk to his father.  
  
James shrugged mysteriously. "Oh, she is, Harry. The nausea comes and goes." Harry stared at him strangely, but James refused to elaborate any further. Shrugging, Harry sped up and landed next to Draco.  
  
"WHOOOHOOOOO!!!!! GO HARRY! IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!!!!! GO DRACO, IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!!!!!!! GO HOGWARTS! IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!!!!!" Harry looked up and grinned. Gaila and Olivia were leaning over the edge of the stands, screaming, their soul mates holding onto their robes for balance. Draco looked up and rolled his eyes.  
  
The referee walked out onto the field across the center line. "Now, boys, I expect a clean game-"  
  
"And girls," Ginny interrupted.  
  
The referee glared at her before continuing. " AND GIRLS, I expect a clean game. No curses and," he glared at the Durmstrung Captain, "I better not see any steam rolling." The other captain glared and scuffed his shoes. "Now, shake hands."  
  
Harry shook the beefy captain's hand and wasn't surprised when the other boy tried to break his fingers. Harry smirked, for the first time glad that Dudley had beat up on him. He quickly flipped the grip, clenching his fingers into fists, and the other boy's face whitened in pain. Draco stood next to him, grinning evilly.  
  
The other boy backed off, rubbing his fingers. "Don't worry, Ref, we won't have any problems with them," Draco said, an evil smirk on his face.  
  
"All right then." The Ref, with little fanfare, released the Snitch, Bludgers and the Quaffle. Harry kicked off the ground, spiraling upward. He quickly caught the Quaffle and immediately passed backwards, knowing that Draco was right behind him.  
  
Draco slid the Quaffle into Ginny's reaching fingers. She shot to the goal, the other chasers still after Draco. She and Harry quickly scored, raising the score to 10 - 0, Hogwarts. Dimly, Harry could hear Lee and Fred commenting on the game, but tuned them out so he could concentrate. Ginny stole the Quaffle and she shot towards the goal, Harry and Draco flanking her. They passed the Quaffle back and forth, avoiding the Bludger one of the other Beaters shot directly at them. Nicholai, at the last minute, swung his bat, targeting the other team. They quickly shot the Quaffle at the left most goal, scoring on Durmstrung's rather hot female keeper yet again- all within thirty seconds. Durmstrung quickly took possession. Harry and Draco chased them down the field. They actually took a shot against Emily. She deftly caught the ball and passed it to Ginny, who streaked down the field, the other team in hot pursuit.  
  
Five minutes later, Hogwarts was in the lead, 50 - 10. Harry anxiously kept his eyes peeled for the other team's Beaters. They had this annoying habit of slamming the Bludger at unaware and unprotected backs. Harry slammed the Quaffle into the goal yet again, upping the score by ten to 60 - 10. *Come on, Dad, catch the damn Snitch already. They're too good.* He dodged a Bluger as his sped towards his face, angrily shaking hs fist at the grinning Beater.  
  
*Damn it, Harry, I'm trying!* James snapped, trying to shake the other Seeker from his tail. *This guy's like a leech! He won't leave me alone!* After ten more minutes of the damn Seeker clinging to him James was struck by a burst of inspiration. He shot towards the ground, the other Seeker blindly following him. He spiraled to the ground and, at the last minute pulled up, a perfect Wronski Feint. Victor Krumm's replacement never saw it coming. He plowed into the ground, skidding off and past his broom. The Referee skidded to the ground, blowing his whistle. All play was halted as Madam Pomfrey examined the other Seeker.  
  
*Good job, Dad!* Harry cheered mentally. James grinned and took a half bow, smirking at the other team. *Uh oh,* Harry thought as he saw the glares the other team was sending towards his father. *Dad, they're gonna target you now.*  
  
*Let them. I dare them,* was his father's offhand comment. They clapped politely as the other Seeker, with an obvious concussion, waved off Madam Pomfrey and remounted his broom. *Good. He's in no condition to play, so this'll be a piece of cake.* Harry laughed at his father's comments.  
  
*Hey, it's all legal, so don't worry, Harry,* Draco said, laughing.  
  
Harry turned to Draco, smirking. *Since when am I worried?* The referee restarted the game and they quickly scored twice more before Durmstrung scored their second goal. After another half an hour of playing, both teams gave up on even trying to play by the rules. The other team's Beaters were blatantly targeting Ginny, James, Draco and Harry, even when they didn't have the Quaffle or were chasing the Snitch.  
  
In retaliation, Ginny flew close to the lead chaser of Durmstrung. "Hey cutie! What's you're name?" she asked, smiling bashfully at the rapidly blushing sixth year.  
  
"Anton," he replied, smiling back, staring at her.  
  
Ginny's grin grew wider as they continued to idly flirt with one another. *Sweet! Score for the tiny one!* She flew really close to him, herding him closer, closer... WHAM!!!! He slammed face first into the side of the Pitch, right below the Hogwart's Stands. The Referee stared at her, confused as to whether or not she had actually committed a foul. The entire Hogwarts Student Body (and some of the Staff as well) erupted into cheers.  
  
"Whoops!" Ginny smirked and nabbed the Quaffle from Harry, quickly scoring. Harry and Draco just laughed and stole the Quaffle again for another easy goal, the score 110 - 30. A loud crash, followed by a scream of pain, had them whipping around in terror.  
  
One of the Beaters had hit a Bludger straight at Emily. Out of pure reflex, she caught it, shattering three of her ribs and knocking her unconscious. She fell off her broom, in, for Harry, slow motion, heading for the ground over a hundred feet below her. He shot towards her, diving to catch her. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Eric vaulting the wall in front of the stands and racing towards his girlfriend. Harry lowered himself to mould to the broom and increased his speed even more. At over five hundred miles an hour, he caught her three feet above the ground. He immediately braked and landed right in front of Madam Pomfrey.  
  
"Harry, do your glowing thing!" she hissed, running her wand over the unconscious girl. Harry sighed and, trying to be as discreet as possible, ran a hand over Emily's ribs, healing them. Above them, the Referee halted play yet again. Eric pulled Emily from Harry's arms, hugging her. Emily stirred and groaned, opening her eyes slowly.  
  
"I'm ok," she said weakly. Ginny swooped over them, holding Emily's broom in her hands. She held out the broom to her and she took in determinedly, wincing in pain from her sore muscles. "Thanks, Harry," she said under her breath, mounting her broom. Eric glared daggers at the offensive Beater, promising retribution. The other Beater sneered at him, and turned away. Harry and Eric shared a long look and then Harry kicked off the ground.  
  
Draco, during the off time, had struck up a conversation with the other goalie. To say she was enamored with the sexy Slytherin was the understatement of the millennium. Draco grinned as he saw the dazed and vacant look in the poor girl's eyes. "So sorry, sweetheart, but I don't swing that way." He took a perverse pleasure in the crushed look in her eyes. "You see that absolutely hot guy over there?" he asked her, pointing at Harry She nodded, tears falling down her face. "Yeah, well, he's mine," Draco growled possessively.  
  
*Harry, don't kill me, but I just claimed you...* Draco sent to his soul mate. Harry whipped around, smirking. He winked at Draco and flew over.  
  
*You ready to play this one out completely?* Harry asked playfully. Draco grinned at him, and then gasped as Harry flew up behind Draco to wrap his arms around Draco's waist, leaning his chin of the blond's shoulder. Draco tensed slightly, then relaxed back into Harry's body. "Draco, what have I told you about breaking hearts?" Harry admonished lightly. "You know they'll wind up crying." Harry playfully squeezed Draco's waist, kissing the astonished Slytherin on the cheek. He looked the sobbing girl in the eye. "I'm really sorry, but he has this perverse streak in him. He thinks it's funny to traumatize the female population. It's really sick, and I'm trying to get him to stop, but it's hopeless, really." Harry pulled Draco away from the girl, laughing quietly, and pecked him on the lips in front of everyone. He heard a roar of shouts coming from the Stands, some sounds of approval, others boos.  
  
"WHAT!!!! MALFOY AND POTTER, KISSING???? WHAT THE FUCK!!" Lee Jordan screamed over the magically enhanced microphone. Harry dissolved into a giggle fit at the look of extreme shock on Draco's face.  
  
"You- you - you do realize that that action is going to make the school year living hell, don't you?" Draco hissed after his had recovered enough to speak.  
  
"Do you really care what everyone else thinks?" Harry smirked. Draco stared at him and slowly grinned, shaking his head no in amusement.  
  
The Referee stared at them, disgusted. "Are you two quite finished?" he asked, sneering at the blatant display of affection. Harry, to the shock of everyone around him, flipped the Referee the middle finger. The Referee blinked in surprise, shocked to his core.  
  
"Now we're finished," Harry smirked. The Referee sighed and resumed play, already composing the draft of a long letter of complaint against the whole damn idea of an International Quidditch League for School age Brats. *That puling brat, flipping me the bird like that. I should yank him from the game- not that this is any way Quidditch should be played. I swear, this is a mockery of the sport.* Harry rolled his eyes at the loud thoughts of the Referee and continued to slam the Quaffle through the other team's goal at every available opportunity.  
  
Within two minutes, it was all out war. Between the two teams, they broke every rule in the book. The Referee had long since given upon calling fouls, as new ones were committed every five seconds. Emily, in her exasperation at the other team, kicked a Bludger directly into the Beater that had hit her, slamming him in the head. He slumped on his broom, semiconscious. A quick "enervate" from the Referee had the game going in full swing.  
  
The other Beater, in retaliation, slammed the Bludger at Harry's broom as he was diving from three hundred feet at over two hundred miles an hour for the Quaffle. Harry flew from his broom, Draco racing to catch him. Harry knew Draco wasn't going to make it and he braced for impact, shutting his eyes tightly. A second later, when he didn't hit the ground, Harry opened his eyes and stared at the ground, inches from his face. Harry stared at the ground in confusion, and then looked above him. Draco was right next to him, grinning. Harry himself was surrounded by his verdant aura, floating inches away from what would have been certain death. Harry put his hand to the ground and rolled gracefully. He stood up, brushing himself off.  
  
The other coach stormed onto the field. "What!!!!! HE'S CHEATING!!!!! I DEMAND A FORFEIT OF THE HOGWART'S TEAM!!!!!" Harry looked up to see his father suddenly shoot past the goalposts. He banked a hard left and, within seconds, had a small Golden ball clasped in his fist.  
  
*Good, it's over.* Harry sagged, and Draco, acting quickly, caught him. Harry leaned comfortably against his soul mate, listening with half an ear to what was going on around him.  
  
"I DEMAND A REMATCH!!!!" the other coach continued to screech at the bored Referee, who was documenting the final score, 340 - 80, Hogwarts. The Referee checked the time with a quick "tempus" and activated a Portkey. Oliver Wood and Viktor Krumm appeared, looking disgruntled.  
  
"Vat is ze problem?" Viktor asked. The Referee just gestured to the other coach and Madam Hooch, who were perilously close to hexing each other. "IVAN! You idiot!!!" Krumm yelled, striding over to his former coach.  
  
"Viktor! That boy used powers to win!" The coach gestured at Harry.  
  
"You are accusing Harry Potter of CHEATING???" Viktor asked, incredulous.  
  
Oliver walked over to them, snarling. "Don't worry, Harry, we'll get this straightened out. What did you do?"  
  
Draco answered. "The Beater hit Harry's broom in a direct foul, and Harry flew off his broom. He then levitated, by accident, rather than smear himself all over the grass." Oliver nodded.  
  
"Krumm! Come here!" Wood yelled. Krumm jogged over, and they started talking intently. Eric disappeared, dragging the Beater who had attacked his girlfriend with him. Harry could hear muffled thuds and a quickly silenced cry of pain coming from under the stands. *GO ERIC!* he thought tiredly.  
  
*I'm glad my actions meet your approval,* came the laughing reply.  
  
*What ya doing to him?* Harry asked.  
  
*Same as he did to Emmy. Shattered ribs, and OOPS! A black eye and a broken hand, and... you get the picture.*  
  
*Sweet.* Harry focused on what was happening in front of him.  
  
Finally, after about five minutes, Oliver raised his head. "We are in agreement. Hogwarts wins and Durmstrung is penalized. The Beater in question, Igor Gorbachev, is suspended two games. The ruling is final." They apparated, leaving the other coach gaping like a fish.  
  
"FINE! DURMSTRUNG, WE LEAVE NOW!!!" The coach spun on his heel and stalked off to the designated Portkey site. His team and the several students who had come to watch straggled after him, with the exception of the Beater who had hit Emily. The coach spun around, counting heads as he walked. "Franz! Where is Dimitri!" he yelled, finally noticing the missing player. At that moment, Dimitri ran out from behind the stands, clutching his ribs and holding a purple hand over his already swelling eye. Eric sauntered out after him, smirking evilly.  
  
"Coach! Vait for ME!!!" he screamed, tears falling down his face. The coach stared at him, and then glared at the smirking Eric, who was standing at the base of the Stands, cracking his knuckles. Harry grinned as Eric flipped the coach the bird and walked off, laughing. The coach grabbed Dimitri by the arm, loudly swearing about "those DAMN Hogwarts cheaters!" as they grasped the Portkey. They disappeared mid cuss word.  
  
The team walked back to the locker rooms, laughing at the insanity of the game. Madam Hooch was waiting for them in the locker room, her arms folded over her chest. She glared at them sternly and the entire team managed to stop laughing long enough to realize that she was PISSED. James quickly grabbed his shower stuff and ran into the boy's shower area, determined to miss the worst of the yelling.  
  
"You BLOODY FOOLS!!!" she yelled, shaking her fist in anger. "MISTERS POTTER AND MALFOY, WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE SEVEN RINGS OF HELL DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING??????"  
  
"Umm, playing Quidditch?" Harry replied meekly. Her face turned purple.  
  
*Wrong answer, stupid,* Draco sniggered mentally, fighting to keep a straight face and failing miserably.  
  
Madam Hooch rounded on the Slytherin Co captain. "And I suppose you think this is funny, Mr. Malfoy." Draco gulped and shook his head quickly. "You are just as much to blame for this as Harry: FLIRTING with their GOALKEEPER!!! What were you thinking????"  
  
Draco's smirked. "Strategy?" he offered, a manic sparkle in his eye.  
  
Madam Hooch's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. "Explain yourself," she said, her tone deadly.  
  
Draco gulped. "If I distracted her, we could score more points?" he asked tentatively, well aware that he was treading on thin ice.  
  
"Right, and I'm the bloody Minister of Magic," Madam Hooch snorted. "And YOU, MISTER POTTER!!! WHAT WAS THAT ON THE FIELD???" she asked, whipping around.  
  
Harry paled. "He started it!" Harry said, pointing at Draco. Draco scowled at him, and the rest of the team laughed.  
  
"Don't you laugh, I've not even started with you yet," Madam Hooch warned. The rest of the team fell silent and sat on the benches, hanging their heads. "Mister Potter, I am well aware that Mr. Malfoy started it. My question is: Why did you finish it like that, and WHY, IN GOD'S NAME, did you flip the Referee the MIDDLE FINGER? We could have been DISQUALIFIED!!!!"  
  
Harry blushed crimson. "Strategy?" he offered, mimicking his soul mate.  
  
Madam Hooch glared at him. "Explain."  
  
"He told her that I was his boyfriend, so I thought we'd really distract her and she wouldn't be able to see straight to catch the Quaffle and I'm really sorry about the middle finger incident but he was really, really rude and I'm rambling, aren't I?" Harry finished in a rush. Draco nodded.  
  
"Harry, do us all a favor and shut up. You're making it worse for the rest of us," James said, stretching as he walked back out of the shower area. Harry clamped his mouth shut and put his hands over his mouth.  
  
"Harry, if you EVER flip off a Ref again, you will no longer be a captain!" Madam Hooch snapped, glaring at Harry.  
  
Harry nodded quickly, keeping his mouth shut.  
  
Madam Hooch rounded on James. "AND YOU!!!" James cowered a little. "EXCELLENT WRONSKI FEINT!!!!!!!!! GOOD JOB!!!!!" she screamed, hugging the astonished Seeker. The entire team stared at her strangely. James stiffened at the thug, but finally relaxed and patted her back.  
  
"Ummm, thank you?" he asked tentatively. Madam Hooch thumped his back, pormoting a coughing fit from everyone else.  
  
"AND AS FOR THE REST OF YOU," she screamed, pulling away from James. "IF I EVER SEE SUCH BLATANT CHEAT ING AGAIN I'LL KICK ALL OF YOU OFF AND REMAKE THE TEAM!!!!" She stood in the center of the room, shaking with rage. Everyone baked up, standing against the lockers, convinced that she was about to explode.  
  
"Practice is tomorrow and I expect a 36 inch parchment on what the rules of Quidditch are as well as how you specifically broke ten of them during the game. It's due at the start of practice. Get dressed and rejoin the school. I'm utterly disgusted." Madam Hooch swept from the room.  
  
Despondent, the rest of the team started to change their clothes. All the girls headed into the girl's bathroom and shower area, changing back into their regular robes and the guys headed off to the guy's showers to do the same. Harry, Draco and Ginny just sat their, replaying the entire game into their minds, determining what went wrong and how it could be avoided in the future.  
  
*I don't care what Hooch said. I refuse to let another team cheat and not retaliate!* Draco exploded after five minutes of debate.  
  
*I know! I hate it too, but we can't let that happen again, or we'll be off the team!* Harry protested, throwing his hands in the air.  
  
*Did you even think of trying to explain that to her? Of course not. We need to talk to her and tell her that we refuse to let our team be at such a disadvantage. It isn't fair to us if they cheat and we don't retaliate.* Ginny reasoned, trying to resolve the issue.  
  
Lily, Severus, and Remus walked quietly into the locker room. "Are you all ok?" Lily asked, staring intently at her son, Ginny and Draco. "We could hear that all the way in the hallway. We thought that you gave Durmstrung what they deserved, a taste of their own medicine." Harry hugged her  
  
"Thanks, Mum," he whispered. He pulled away from her, anxiously searching her face. "Speaking of medicine, have you seen Madam Pomfrey? Did she say what's wrong?" Grinning widely, Lily led Harry to sit on the bench next to his father. Harry looked at James, who grinned at him in return.  
  
Severus and Remus sat on either side of Harry and James, anxious to hear what was wrong as well. James stood up and loosely clasped Lily around the waist. "We saw Madam Pomfrey last night, and she said there was nothing wrong with me," Lily said, grinning.  
  
"But you're sick all the time. How can nothing-" Harry started. James held up a hand, silencing his son.  
  
"You didn't let her finish. Madam Pomfrey said there wasn't anything wrong with her that nine months won't fix."  
  
Harry gasped, his eyes wide. Severus's mouth dropped open. Remus stared at Lily, grinning. "I KNEW something smelled different!" he exclaimed.  
  
Lily nodded. "I'm PREGNANT!!!" she screamed, laughing. Harry jumped up and hugged his parents.  
  
"This is AWESOME!!!!!" Draco! Ginny! I'm gonna have a baby brother or sister!!!" Draco grinned and hugged Harry. Ginny hugged him as well, her face a little troubled.  
  
Ginny watched as Harry and his parents celebrated. She really wanted to be happy, and she was so happy for Harry, but what did this mean for her? *If Harry has a little brother or sister, is he still going to want me?* Ginny wondered sadly. She started to gather her shower things and headed for the girl's bathroom.  
  
Harry watched her, having heard the question Ginny had asked herself. He shook his head and walked quickly after her, grabbing her arm. She spun around, unable to keep all traces of sadness from her eyes. "Ginny, Ginny," Harry whispered, crushing her in his arms. "How do you feel about being a big sister?" he asked, grinning at her.  
  
Ginny squealed, throwing her arms around Harry. "I'd like that. I HATE being the baby!" Lily and James walked up and wrapped their arms around Harry and Ginny.  
  
"So, this is going to be our new daughter. James, I think we need to welcome her in true Potter and Evans style." Lily looked Ginny up and down. "You know, James, she looks like she could be our daughter. She has your color eyes and my hair. This is too creepy."  
  
Ginny beamed. "What's your true style?" she asked curiously.  
  
Lily and James grinned evilly at each other. "Have you heard of the Marauders?" James asked in all seriousness.  
  
Ginny gasped. "That was YOU? You're my ROLE MODEL!!!" she squealed, hugging James. Lily laughed at the shocked and thrilled look on James's face. Severus's face twitched as he fought, successfully, to conceal his smile.  
  
"Well, it wasn't ALL me. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were my partners in crime. Peter Pettigrew joined up with us in his third and our fourth year." Ginny looked up at his adoringly.  
  
"My brothers Fred and George have carried on the tradition and, now that they're gone, we," She opened her arms to include Harry and Draco, "are carrying on the tradition."  
  
Harry and Draco grinned. *You thinking what I'm thinking?* Harry asked.  
  
*PRANK WAR!!!!* Draco yelled exuberantly. Harry snickered.  
  
*Oh, what to do first???*  
  
*I'm thinking that we get George and Fred to get us some of their products and then prank the rest of the school. Who's with me?*  
  
*I AM!!!" Came the mental voices of both Harry and Ginny.  
  
Lily, Severus, Remus and James looked at each other. *Why rely on the Weaseley twins for products? Make your own!* came Sev's amused voice.  
  
Harry grinned, already dreaming up several ideas on how to make the ickle Firsties completely blue, or the Ravenclaws a lovely shade of puce, or give the Slytherins red and gold hair.... Oh the possibilities!!!  
  
Severus expounded on Harry's train of thought. *You know, I could just have them brew a potion that is guaranteed to explode and completely drench them in blue dye...*  
  
*But is it fair to the rest of the school if the teachers are pranking the students? Who am I kidding! The students prank the teachers all the time. It's about time that we gave the cheeky bastards a taste of their own medicine.* Remus thought, grinning like a madman.  
  
*Right, so it's us against the school. I think Seamus, Blaise, Neville and Luna would be wonderful allies and would have fun helping us out,* Harry mused, already planning the first big prank to pull.  
  
"All right, you three, YOU STINK! Hit the showers!" Lily exclaimed, fanning her nose as if they smelled repulsive. Harry discretely smelled himself. His mum was right, they were all really ripe. Laughing, Lily, James, Remus, and Severus walked out of the locker room and headed back to Hogwarts'.  
  
Ginny walked into the girl's shower area, her clothing under her arm. "Harry, Draco, no fighting," she called over her shoulder as she closed the door.  
  
Harry snickered. "Who? Us? Fighting?" he asked rolling his eyes. Draco snickered, silently agreeing with Ginny. Suddenly, his eyes widened as Harry pulled off his robes and undershirt, standing there in nothing but a pair of black jeans. He watched, suddenly aroused as Harry bent over, picking up his robes, and bundled them on the bench. Draco turned around, slightly panting, as Harry quickly grabbed his change of clothing, a bar of soap, and a washcloth and headed into the showers.  
  
Draco turned back around and stared at Harry's sculpted back as he walked away. As waves of lust and desire slammed into him, leaving him reeling, he slammed the strongest shields he had ever created into place, cutting Harry out of his mind. *Oh MERLIN! What the HELL is going on?* He rested his head against the cool metal of the lockers, trying not to jump his soul mate right then and there.  
  
Harry walked back out of the shower area in just a small, black towel, completely unaware of the effects his state of undress immediately had on Draco. "Draco, are you all right?" he asked, staring at Draco intently. Draco hurriedly sat down on the bench, trying to hide his hard on.  
  
"I- I'm just fine. Go on, take your shower. I'll be in in a minute," Draco managed to say without stuttering too badly, his face glowing a tomato red. *What is wrong with me??? This is Harry! I- I -oh shit, no, please GOD no. Don't do this to me.*  
  
Harry turned and walked back into the shower, shaking his head. Something was definitely wrong with Draco, but he couldn't feel anything and he didn't want to pry. Shrugging, he stepped into the shower.  
  
Draco sat in the locker room, trying to calm himself down. *You knew what being soul mates with him meant. You knew,* he accused himself. *But oh HELL this is bad. He can't know. He'd freak.* A picture of Harry, in his black satin boxers, rose unbidden in Draco's mind and his raging hard on intensified painfully. *Fuck this! I REFUSE to be GAY!* Draco angrily willed his hormones to subside. *I'll work this out. I have to.* Drawing in a shuddering breath, he walked into the shower, head held high.  
  
  
  
A/N: Hey everyone, sorry this one is a little late. My computer has bit the dust, literally. It's in its last gasping death throes and I'm tying this on my laptop, which isn't connected to the internet. So, I'm doing some transferring of files and all that nice stuff. So, what did you think? Have I satisfied all those poor people who want slash and ask for it every review? No? Too damn bad! It's gonna take a while before the rating of this story jumps from R to NC17 and then I'll have to find an alternate site, maybe adultfanfiction.net. It's so sad. Violence is a R, but sex is NC17. Why? Reading about sex is so much healthier than reading about murder and torture. But, that's just my opinion. Let's all be Nymphomaniacs! 


	18. Chapter 18

WARNING LABEL: IF YOU DON'T APPORVE OD ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION, ILLICIT DRUG USE, OR DRUNKEN DEBAUCHERY, OR TWO GUYS MAKING OUT AND ALL THAT FUN STUFF, DON'T READ THIS CHAPTER.  
  
Chapter 18  
  
At 5:30, Draco, in his black leather pants, silver mesh shirt, dog collar and spiked bracelets, checked the time for the fourth time and sighed and ran a hand through his ice blond, chin length hair. *Potter's running late as usual. He'll miss the party!* He could hear the water running in the shower and, shaking his head, pounded on the bathroom door. "HARRY!!!! GET OUT OF THERE NOW!!!!!!" Harry poked his dripping wet and still soapy head out of the door, nearly bumping noses with his Slytherin soul mate. Draco jerked his head back, studiously gazing anywhere but Harry's obviously naked torso.  
  
"What?" asked Harry, eyeing Draco's costume, and completely missing the fact that Draco was incredibly uncomfortable around him. "What's going on? Why are you ready? We don't have to be ready for another three hours. Relax." Harry was about to close the door when Draco stuck his foot in between the door and the door jam.  
  
Draco cocked an eyebrow elegantly. "And I suppose you are just going to skip the school party, which starts in half an hour I might add, or have you completely forgotten?"  
  
Harry stared at him in confusion. "What- When was that announced?" Harry asked, feeling stupid.  
  
Draco grinned at him, showing two, long, tapered fangs in his mouth. "It's only been planned for the last two weeks, Potter. Where have you been?" He grinned even wider at the shock on Harry's face.  
  
"Really? I haven't heard anything about it, or maybe I just totally spaced..." Harry closed the door on Draco's face. Draco sighed as he heard the water start back up again.  
  
"Potter! You have thirty minutes before I leave you here!" Frowning, Draco grabbed his black velvet hooded cloak from his bed and, slinging it over his shoulders, stalked into the Slytherin Common Room.  
  
  
  
Exactly twenty one minutes later, Harry stalked gracefully from the bathroom into the Slytherin Common Room. Draco wondered what the hell everyone was staring at, looked up from his book and simply stared at the apparition in the doorway. His jaw almost hit the floor before he managed to recover his dignity. *Potter is... hot... DAMNIT STOP THINKING THAT WAY!!!* He mentally berated himself.  
  
*It is true. Potter IS hot,* Draco grudgingly thought to himself in what he tried to delude himself was a completely platonic way.  
  
Harry entered through the darkened hallway, blending perfectly with the shadows. His leather trench coat billowed around his leather clad legs as he strode into the room. He had grown his hair until it was down to his shoulder blades, two thick, silver streaks in the front framing his face in an entirely sinisterly beautiful way. He wore a simple leather choker studded with black iridescent stones around his neck and around matching bracelets around his wrists. His eyes glowed a verdant green, enhanced by kohl eyeliner. He smirked, enjoying the appreciative stared and whistles coming his way. Mockingly, he bowed, earning a fervent round of applause from the entirely of the Slytherin House.  
  
"Really, Mr. Potter. One would think you enjoyed the spotlight." Severus Snape remarked as he swept into the Common room. His hair, normally greasy from the potions residue, shone in silky, ebony waves that framed his face and brushed his shoulders. He wore a tight black mesh shirt that showed off well formed pectorals and washboard abs so tight you could bounce a quarter off of them. His even tighter leather pants definitely left next to nothing to the imagination. His normally slightly sallow features appeared chalk white next to the black eyeliner, eye shadow and lipstick he wore. Completing the picture, silver studded bracelets encircled his wrists and two large silver chains were slung around his hips. His students stared, jaws brushing the floor, at the transformation, then stood up and gave him a standing ovation. Severus merely cocked an eyebrow.  
  
"What?" he asked, baffled. He looked down at himself. "Oh please. I'm not even in costume." That remark earned him two faints (first years) and a whole chorus of wolf whistles from guys and girls alike. He grinned and took a bow. Harry stalked over to him.  
  
"This is SO sad. They're whistling and passing out over a teacher and a Gryffindor," Harry remarked in an undertone. "Even Draco's jaw hit the floor."  
  
Severus cocked an eyebrow at this tidbit of information. "Really," he stated in an equally quiet voice. "I hadn't realized that my godson had truly accepted the fact that he would be bound to a male for all eternity, although I have known for years that he doesn't like the female sex. He's finally out of denial. As for the rest, everyone knows that I'm the Slytherin Sex God and you're an honorary Slytherin as my nephew. They still have good taste."  
  
Harry's jaw dropped slightly. "You- you mean he thinks I'm hot???" he managed to squeak out, shocked, glancing surreptitiously at Draco. "And since when are you the Slytherin Sex God?" The closer Slytherins edged closer, eager to find out who they were talking about.  
  
Severus stared at him strangely and pulled him bodily from the dorms. He dragged Harry into his quarters so they could continue the conversation in private.  
  
Draco stared at his soul mate as he was dragged out of the Slytherin Dorms. He met Harry's eyes and was dismayed to see slight fear and apprehension in the Gryffindor's gaze. *Oh SHIT,* he thought miserably. *Somehow, he knows. This is not good.*  
  
  
  
"Uncle Sev, are you sure?" Harry asked miserably as soon as they stood inside Severus's living room.  
  
"Positive, Harry. It would take something truly magnificent for Draco to lose his cool like that." Severus crossed the room and poured himself a shot of whiskey. "Would you like one?" he asked, gesturing to the bottle.  
  
"Considering that I don't think I can handle this cold sober, yes, please." Harry sat down and buried his head in his hands. Severus joined him on the couch, two glasses in his hands. He handed one to Harry and they downed them wordlessly.  
  
"All right, now we have this fortification, I'm going to ask. Do you feel anything at all towards Draco?" Severus asked cautiously, feeling the alcohol numb him slightly.  
  
"He's my best friend, even better than Ron ever was. With Draco, I don't have to hide anything. He knows about the visions, he knows about my- Vernon," Harry stumbled over the name, rage choking his throat momentarily. Gulping, he continued. "He knows everything and he accepts me. In fourth year, when the visions started, Ron freaked out and I couldn't talk to him or Hermione. I was too afraid they'd abandon me if they found out what I was seeing every time I closed my eyes."  
  
Severus put an arm around him comfortingly. "It's all right, Harry. No one is going to abandon you."  
  
"I know that. I know that you accept me for who I am. But, I was never sure of them. That's my point. I couldn't even trust my best friends not to abandon me. It was horrible. Now, I know that I have people who love me for ME, not the 'Boy- who- Lived" junk." Harry relaxed into Severus's embrace, glad for the comfort.  
  
"To answer your question, I honestly don't know," Harry said, his shoulders stiffening. "I suppose it's possible, but I can't even think about it. I keep seeing Vernon hurt me when I think about having a relationship. This sucks!" Wearily, Harry rubbed his eyes. "With Cho, it was different, because I didn't really like her. I've never really had a crush on anyone, her included. I asked her out because I was curious about all the dating hype. With Draco, I don't know. Even if I did like him, I've still got to work past all this." A lone tear trickled down his cheek.  
  
Severus gently brushed the tear away. "I understand completely, Harry and I don't blame you for being apprehensive about a relationship. You two will wind up together, though. Soul mates, with the exception of identical twins, wind up together. There is no exception. Draco will let you work out whatever you need to work out and let you have as long as you need."  
  
Harry nodded dejectedly. "Thank you, Uncle Sev. I just wish that I could have made a better soul mate. Poor Draco. He shouldn't have to put up with this."  
  
Severus rolled his eyes and pulled Harry into a bone crushing hug. "I can think of no one better who I'd prefer to see with my godson. You will be good for each other." He looked over his nephew. "What are you supposed to be, if you don't mind my asking?"  
  
Harry stood up swiftly and removed his trench coat, revealing his bare chest and WINGS growing out of his back. "I don't think the other teachers would appreciate my walking around without a shirt, but I can't get a shirt to fit over the wings." Harry turned around and, flexing two bones protruding from his spine, fully stretched the black iridescent feathery wings out to their full extension, about twelve feet in diameter at the widest point. They extended about a foot above his head and almost trailed on the ground. "I can even fly with them, too."  
  
Severus, wide eyed, gently trailed his fingers down the soft feathers. "A Dark Angel?" he asked in wonder. "I can see why Draco was just about drooling. You look incredible."  
  
Harry blushed. "Thank you. Wait a minute, Draco hasn't seen them yet! I'm keeping my trench coat on until out party starts. Don't tell him. I want it to be a surprise."  
  
"Oh I'll say it'll be a surprise. He's going to probably jump you right then and there," Severus said with a smile, still playing with the feathers.  
  
Harry's eyes widened and he stared at his uncle in shock. Suddenly he grinned playfully. "So I guess I should walk around without my coat. That would have an interesting effect on the student body, don't you think?"  
  
Severus laughed. "Walk around like that only if you want to have to beat the guys and girls off with a stick. Come on. The party's starting and you don't want to be late," Severus said sarcastically.  
  
"Oh yeah, and since when are you the Sex God? Draco's been voted that two years in a row." Harry smirked at his uncle.  
  
"I'll have you know that I was voted Slytherin Sex God and Most Shaggable Guy in School for five years in a row: from third to seventh year. I beat out Lucius every time, to his anger and consternation. Draco only WISHES he had my charm and finesse," Severus growled, smirking back at his nephew. He got up from the couch. "Let's go already."  
  
Harry laughed and, slinging his trench coat back over his wings, hiding them, they walked out of his quarters.  
  
Draco was standing right outside the door, waiting for them. He locked eyes with Harry apprehensively, terrified of what he might find. *Please, PLEASE don't let him hate me or act weird,* he pleaded with the higher powers.  
  
Harry casually slung his arm around Draco's shoulders, ignoring his soul mate's startled and thankful look. "Come on, Draco. They can't start the party without us." He guided the astonished and grateful Slytherin towards the Great Hall.  
  
Draco let out a silent sigh of relief as the three of them walked out of the Dungeons and into the Great Hall.  
  
Harry and Draco pushed open the doors to the Great Hall and strode inside. Harry took in the gaudy decorations without a second glance. Basically, the Hall looked the same as it had that morning. The only thing that was different was the ceiling. Instead of a sunny day like that morning, ominous clouds rolled across the starlit night. An enormous Harvest Moon hung low on the horizon.  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. "Really, Draco, could this be any lamer?" he drawled to the smirking Slytherin by his side.  
  
"I don't know, Harry. Last year was worse," Draco replied, smirking in return.  
  
Severus rolled his eyes. "Honestly, you two. Could you please let the children enjoy themselves? This is geared to the younger students."  
  
Harry and Draco laughed and sauntered over to the Slytherin Tables. "You activated the Portkey, right?" Draco asked Harry as they sat down next to a she devil Ginny, Osiris Seamus and Isis Blaise. They watched as Neville, who looked quite good in gothic clothing, dance with Luna in a Catwoman costume.  
  
"Of course. Third suit of armor. Grab the visor and say 'The Chamber of Secrets'. Everyone knows already." Harry grabbed a mug of Butterbeer and downed it in one long gulp.  
  
Draco scowled and chose to sip his Butterbeer. "Honestly, Potter. This isn't a Frat Party, and Butterbeer isn't alcoholic. Do try to control yourself."  
  
Harry shot him a dark look and asked, a slight slur to his voice. "What makes you think that was Butterbeer? Do try to keep up, will you?" Draco rolled his eyes and sniffed the bottle. Sure enough, it was a very potent Firewhiskey.  
  
"Are you trying to get plastered already?" Draco asked incredulously.  
  
"If it'll make the two hours I have to be here go by quicker, then yes." Harry summoned another bottle and closed his eyes. He took another long gulp of the now Firewhiskey and sighed.  
  
"Would you please not get plastered?" Draco hissed, looking anxiously at the Teacher's table. Dumbledore was staring at them suspiciously and Severus was making a quick slashing motion over his throat at them. Draco grabbed Harry's arm and quickly led him out of the Great Hall. Harry kept a tight hold on his bottle as they left.  
  
They sat on the stairs, passing the bottle back and forth. "So, why are you so anxious to get drunk all of a sudden?" Draco asked lightly.  
  
Harry grinned. "I'm not drunk. In fact, the first one was Butterbeer. I only changed it when you asked."  
  
Draco smacked his arm. "Damn it Potter! So answer the damn question already. Why do you want to get plastered?"  
  
"Well, let's see. We're at a boring party and can't leave for," Harry checked the time, "another hour and fifty two minutes, and I heard some news tonight that really disturbed me."  
  
Draco had a sinking feeling in his stomach. "What was that?" he asked quietly, dreading the answer.  
  
Harry turned to look at him. "You'd already know the answer to that if you hadn't have put up those shields. So, until you can get over whatever problem you have with me and being in my mind, I'm not telling," he said with a pout.  
  
Draco pouted back. "Oh, come on, just a hint? Please?" Harry resolutely shook his head. "Fine then, be that way." Draco stood up and pulled Harry to his feet. "What's with the trench coat?" he asked, changing the subject completely.  
  
Harry shrugged. "I don't think the teachers would appreciate my costume." Draco took a huge gulp of the Firewhiskey, trying to erase the images that statement gave him. It didn't work. In fact, it made the images worse.  
  
"Come on," Draco groaned, dragging Harry back into the great Hall. "Less than two hours to go. It can't be that bad."  
  
  
  
Draco was right. It wasn't that bad, especially after Dumbledore decided to have an early night and left an hour into the party. At 8:40, Harry left the party and Apparated straight to the Chamber. He quickly started the music and Linkin Park's Numb blasted from the speakers. He stood in the center of the room and released the spells on the dry ice containers, adding spider webs to the walls in the same breath. He turned on the strobe light and dimmed the rest of the lights.  
  
On a whim, Harry transfigured the bar from the plain wooden one in the room to a very ornate self serve Bar and tables. He changes the bar top to glass and put four Pewter Dragons underneath, holding the glass in their clays. He did the same with large square tables that he placed in strategic areas around the cavern. Finally, he added five comfortable couches and ten or so large chairs around the roaring fire in the serpent's mouth and put two tables, the same design, in front of them.  
  
Alanna and Xander Apparated in, holding trays. Alanna, dressed as Queen Akasha from the movie The Queen of the Damned and Xander as the Vampire Lestat from the same movie asked, as one voice, "Where do you want the trays?" Harry secretly wondered how the metal halter top bra cups stayed in place, considering that there was no back to the costume. Not that he was complaining. It looked incredible.  
  
"What are on them?" Harry asked curiously.  
  
"Oh, some of our inventions," Alanna replied. "I have chocolate cherry bombs and Xander has Jell-O shots, about two hundred of each."  
  
Harry's eyes widened. "What are those?" he asked.  
  
"Cherry bombs: bing cherries, magic shell chocolate and amaretto liqueur. Put the liqueur in the cherries and cover them in the magic shell. Pop them in the freezer for an hour and they're ready. Jell-O shots: replace all the water with Everclear in the recipe and add either fruit or whatever you want. In this case, we added sour gummy worms," Alanna explained.  
  
Harry nodded. "Put them on the tables around the room. Two or three trays each should do it and I'll charm the trays to refill from the extra trays without us having to manually walk around and refill them." Alanna and Xander distributed the trays, having seven trays left over each, which they stacked on the bar and put a cooling charm over them.  
  
"Who's bartending?" Xander asked, standing behind the bar.  
  
"I thought that we'd let people pour their own drinks," Harry replied, putting out trays of hot wings, dip, salsa and chips on the tables.  
  
"Oh no. How about we rotate? Xander, I, Severus, Emily, Eric, Draco and you can all take turns. It'll be fun." Alanna took the extra trays from Harry and set them behind the bar as well, setting the refill and cooling charms herself.  
  
"All right, but I'm not too good about how to pour drinks," Harry warned.  
  
"That's all right. You'll catch on quick. Now then the guest should be arriving any minute-". Severus and Draco Apparated into the middle of the Chamber just as she was speaking. Lily, James, Remus and Ginny quickly followed them.  
  
Harry gasped at the incredibly cool costumes his parents had. Lily was a water nymph, complete with turquoise hair, a skintight body suit that looked like the waves and the rest of her skin colored to match. James was a fire spirit, complete with fiery red hair with black tips, ebony eyes, and scarlet skin covered with black leather. Remus was Frankenstein, green skin, electrodes and all. Ginny was in her demon transformation, her black leather miniskirt, black tube top, and had added two small horns to her forehead and a long forked tail.  
  
Lily grabbed a Jell-O shot from the table. "MUM! You're not having alcohol tonight, are you?" Harry asked, worried.  
  
Lily stared at him. "Why wouldn't- oh yeah, the baby. Guess I'm the designated Apparater then." She gave the Jell-O shot to James, who happily consumed it for her.  
  
"Great Jell-O shot! Who made them?" he asked loudly over the booming music.  
  
"I did!" Alanna exclaimed form behind the bar. They turned and watched as more partygoers stumbled in, exactly at 9:00. Emily, Eric, Seamus and Blaise all appeared in the center of the dance floor. Harry got an eyeful of Eric and Emily's costume: Marilyn Manson and what looked to be Marilyn Manson's personal cheerleader, if the black and red cheerleading outfit with the pitchfork Ms could be believed.  
  
"Emily! Great costume!" Harry yelled over Saliva's Always. "Manson's cheerleader?" he asked.  
  
"You got it!" Emily enthusiastically nodded, yelling back. She pulled Eric onto the dance floor and they started dancing. Lily and James followed them, as did Xander and Alanna. Draco and Harry sat down behind the bar in a slightly strained silence. Harry quickly poured himself a Screwdriver and sipped it. Draco just poured a shot of Bacardi for himself.  
  
Neville and Luna arrived together thirty seconds later. Neville, right away, asked for a double shot of whiskey. Luna asked for a coke and rum. Harry and Draco, still slightly uncomfortable, started bartending. "Are you sure you're not going to tell me?" Draco asked finally.  
  
Harry shook his head. "Why aren't you in my head any more? It feels so weird!"  
  
"I can't tell you," Draco said, grimly pouring another drink.  
  
"Then you aren't going to find out. It's that simple," Harry spoke resolutely, the topic closed. He handed a drink to Blaise and another to Seamus in silence.  
  
Alanna and Xander stumbled over. "Hey, we'll take over for now. Go have fun!" Alanna yelled, shooing the two out from behind the bar. She and Xander slid over the top and sat down quickly on the other side. Harry and Draco watched as everyone else from fourth year and up started to arrive.  
  
Ron and Hermione were first in Terminator costumes, male and female. Harry was surprised to see Dudley show up in a Michael Myers overcoat and mask, Susan Bones on his arm. She was a regular cheerleader, in a pink and white uniform. He went back to the bar and remade his screwdriver.  
  
Severus walked up behind Harry. "Oh no! You're making that all wrong, Harry!" he exclaimed. "Here, let me show you," he said, taking the glass from his nephew. Harry watched, fascinated, as he mixed Pineapple juice, orange juice, pineapple chunks, orange slices, and half a mango in a blender and then poured liberal amounts of Vodka over the whole thing. He poured Harry a fresh glassful. "Here, try this."  
  
Harry cautiously took a sip and his eyes widened in shock. "Hey, this is GOOD!" Severus smirked as he watched Harry walk over to a couch and fall onto it, enjoying his Tropical Screwdriver.  
  
Olivia arrived, dragging her soul mate Michael along with her. Olivia was in a white tuxedo with tails and a top hat, white spats, the whole nine yards. She held a diamond and platinum walking stick in her left hand. Behind her, Michael was just as flashy, in a different way. He only wore a pair of skintight leather pants, boots, spiked bracelets and a spiked collar with a leash. The other end of the leash was in Livvie's right hand. Harry gasped in shock. "Oh, wow. You two look great!"  
  
"Thanks, Harry," Olivia bubbled, completely destroying her 'pimp' image. She shook the leash impatiently. "Come on, Mike. I want a mudslide!" She dragged her 'bitch' over to the bar.  
  
Harry could hear Michael, in a brief music lull as the machine changed CDs, grumble, "next time you're the bitch!"  
  
Harry laughed and watched as Gaila and Raphael arrived. She was in a pair of indigo cargo jeans and a black and silver tube top, chains and whole armfuls of FuckMe bracelets and studded bracelets. Raphael wore similar, except a regular tee shirt where the tube top was.  
  
Selena and Gryffin showed up as two fairies, complete with working wings. They immediately flew all over the cavern, finally taking a spot on the dance floor with everyone else. Harry lost track of who had arrived and who hadn't. He went to find Severus in the mosh pit on the floor.  
  
He accidentally bumped into Ginny, who was grinding with a hot, unknown guy in black jeans and a scarlet mesh shirt. "Hey, Gin, who's that? Does he go to school here?" he yelled, trying to be heard over the pulsating music.  
  
"This is Darius, Claudette's son. He's 17 and had private tutors. Claudette and Lucas are around here somewhere." Ginny yelled back, grinning. "He's HOT!!!"  
  
"Thanks, gorgeous," Darius drawled. Harry just shrugged as they went back to dancing.  
  
"Severus!" he yelled when he had finally found his uncle, in the exact middle of the pit. "Where's the drugs?" he yelled over the music.  
  
"Behind the BAR!!!" Severus yelled back. Harry nodded and worked his way back out of the pit. He quickly set up the potions bottles on the end of the bar. Alanna quickly grabbed a hallucinogen and a lust potion.  
  
"I've never tried this combination before," she mused, grabbing one more of each for Xander. Harry laughed and shook his head, grabbing an unknown potion for himself. He walked back over to the couches and nearly sat on a wildly making out couple.  
  
"Blaise, Seamus- ahh the HELL with it! Whatever, I don't care." Harry moved to a single person chair and, sitting down, quickly upended the potion into his mouth. "That tastes... strange," he muttered, watching the world turn a kaleidoscope of colors and spin crazily around him. "Damn trench coat. It's too hot in here but I don't wanna be jumped," he mumbled and stood up.  
  
Arms snaked around him. Harry turned and saw Draco. "What?" he asked, reeling from the drug in his system.  
  
"You're too good looking for that coat. Take it off," Draco slurred slightly.  
  
Harry shook his head, the world slowly revolving in front of his eyes. "No. You're drunk."  
  
"And you're stoned. Who gives a fuck?" Draco insisted, unzipping the coat. His eyes took in hungrily the bare flesh underneath. Harry reached down and finished the Screwdriver in one long gulp. He let the coat fall from him and land on the floor, his trapped wings expanding and flaring.  
  
Draco's eyes bulged. "I – um- wow," he finished lamely, taking in Harry's low slung, tight leather pants. He traced with one feather light finger the prominent line from right below Harry's pectorals all the way down his happy trail to the top button of the pants. Harry shivered but made no move to stop him.  
  
"Why'd you hide under the trench coat? You're absolutely perfect." Draco started to play with the silky feathers, smoothing and caressing them.  
  
"Didn't you know?" Harry asked, trying to decide in his inebriated state whether or not he liked the attention. "All Angels wear trench coats."(1)  
  
Draco laughed and pulled Harry to the couch, earning approving whistles form the rest of the partygoers. He grabbed a tray of Jell-O shots. "I am going to eat half this tray and you are going to help me," he announced, giggling.  
  
Harry looked at him, cocking an eyebrow. "And how, pray tell, will I do that?" he asked suspiciously.  
  
Draco shoved him into an almost reclining position. "Like this." He picked up a Jell-O cup and upended it onto Harry's bare chest. Draco watched, fascinated, as the Jell-O slid down his chest and down his six pack, coming to rest at his naval.  
  
"Mmmmm, good." Draco gently licked the trail of alcohol down Harry's chest and stomach and took the entire Jell-O shot in his mouth, "accidentally" licking Harry's naval in the process.  
  
Harry groaned. "Oh," he replied and wrapped his wings completely around him, effectively hiding himself from view.  
  
"Peek-a-boo!" Draco yelled, sliding up Harry's legs and into his lap to peer under the wings. "I see you! Come out and play!"  
  
Grinning, Harry shook his head. "Nope, not gonna."  
  
Draco pouted. "Please?" Harry shook his head. "Why not?"  
  
"Because I said so, silly." Harry flicked Draco in the forehead.  
  
"OW!" Draco rubbed his now painful forehead. "Come on, Harry, don't be a party pooper."  
  
Harry shoved Draco gently out of his wings and retreated behind them again. Draco sat on his legs, stroking and caressing the feathers. "These are so pretty," Draco spoke in a sing song. "I could sit like this forever."  
  
Lily sat on another couch, watching her son and his soul mate. *James, Draco had better not hurt our Harry or he'll be in for a world of hurt," Lily warned her soul mate.  
  
James walked over and sat next to Lily. *Definitely, Lils. Whatever you say.*  
  
*I'm getting tired, and it's almost midnight. I think it's time for me to go to sleep,* Lily yawned.  
  
James scooped her up in his arms and they Apparated straight to their room. He tucked her into bed and crawled in next to her, bidding each other good night.  
  
  
  
Harry sat inside his cocoon of iridescent ebony feathers. He could barely see out of the hairline crack between his wings. "Yay, this is fun..." he trailed off, peering out from between his wings. He saw Draco playing with his feathers. *You know, this isn't too bad. I thought that I'd freak out if someone touched me like that, but I'm not. I'll have to tell him that. But first, on to more Jell-O shots!* He peered out at Draco, giggling. Draco raised an eyebrow, trying to look sophisticated but failing miserably. Harry stuck an arm out of his cocoon and pushed Draco off of his lap. Draco fell on the floor with a thump and lay there, pouting.  
  
Harry slowly retracted his wings, flaring them against the couch. He reached down and grabbed Draco's arm, pulling him back onto the couch. "I thought you wanted to finish the tray!" Harry exclaimed at the hurt look on Draco's face. "Well, come on! MORE JELLO SHOTS!!!!!" Draco's face brightened and he grinned, his eyes darkening from silver to burnished steel. Harry shivered.  
  
Slowly, Draco dumped another Jell-O shot down Harry's naked chest. Harry gasped at the cold. They both watched, fascinated, as the Jell-O tumbled down Harry's stomach, and onto his pants, coming to rest right over his groin. Harry opened his mouth in protest but shut it right away as Draco, grinning, licked his way down Harry's chest and abdomen. He gasped and his eyes widened as he felt a tongue caress his naval and move down his happy trail. He looked down and saw Draco's hair fall over his face as he licked Harry's pants, finally coming to the Jell-O in his crotch. Draco winked at Harry before finally scooping up the Jell-O with his tongue.  
  
The crowd they had gathered with their antics whistled and hollered their drunken approval. Harry stood up and bowed, getting an ovation. Giggling, Draco bowed as well and pulled Harry into a long, indecent French kiss. At first Harry stiffened, but cautiously kissed him back after a second, beginning to enjoy the feel of Draco's lips against his and the playful battle their tongues had engaged. All too soon, Draco pulled away, staring at Harry strangely.  
  
Harry was about to ask what was wrong, when the music stopped and he heard a familiar voice booming throughout the chamber. "TESTING TESTING!" Harry whipped around to see Eric standing on a conjured stage in the center of the mosh pit. Harry and Draco watched bemused, as Emily, Ginny, and Luna stood on the stage next to Eric.  
  
Eric, in full Marilyn Manson getup, silver teeth, red lipstick and all, started the music with a wave of his hand. He conjured a microphone as Marilyn Manson's Mob Scene blasted over the speakers. Standing in the center of the impromptu stage, he closed his eyes and 'got into the character'. Opening his eyes, he belted out the lyrics, gyrating to the beat.  
  
"Ladies and Gentlemen  
We are the things of shapes to come  
You're freedom's not free and dumb  
This Depression is great  
The Deformation Age, they know my name  
Waltzing to scum and base and  
Married to the pain"  
  
Eric walked around the stage, screaming by now. Everyone screamed with him, forming an enormous mosh pit around the stage. Harry and Draco ran over, eager to get in on the action, all Jell-O shots forgotten.  
  
"Bang we want it  
Bang we want it  
Bang bang bang bang bang  
You came to see the mob scene  
I know it isn't your scene  
It's better than a sex scene and it's  
So fucking obscene, obscene, yeah"  
  
Emily, Ginny, Gaila, Olivia and Luna came in doing an impromptu can- can, each holding black and scarlet pompoms. Harry lifted Draco onto his shoulders, boosting him into a crowd surf.  
  
"Be OBSCENE! Be be OBSCENE  
Be Obscene, baby, not heard!"  
  
Harry was lifted up and he surfed the human wave, feeling slightly disconcerted when someone underneath him obviously grabbed his ass. He listened and screamed along with Eric, who did an incredible Manson impersonation. He was pulled onto the stage by Ginny and Emily. Draco stood next to the stage, moshing with the rest of the partiers. Eric finished MOB SCENE and started in on Doll-dagga- buzz-buzz- ziggety-zag. Harry grinned, following Ginny's lead as she started a jitterbug.  
  
"Gin, I can't dance!" Harry protested thirty seconds later.  
  
"No shit, Sherlock," Ginny giggled. Harry was right. He couldn't dance to save his life. Ginny grabbed tall, dark and handsome, her personal nickname for Darius, Claudette's son and pulled him onto the stage. Harry gratefully sank down into the crowd.  
  
"Hey! This is a vast improvement!" Ginny exclaimed as Darius dipped her expertly and spun her around. They danced for the next two songs, when Eric, who was guzzling shots of Everclear between songs, promptly passed out on stage mid song.  
  
Emily poked Eric in the stomach. "Hey dork! Get up and sing some more!" she yelled over the remains of Beautiful People. Eric didn't stir, so Emily sighed and asked Ginny to Apparate him back to his bed.  
  
Muttering about designated Apparaters, Ginny complied, disappearing while holding Eric by the hair. She reappeared five seconds later and she and Darius melted into the throng of inebriated students to dance some more. "Em, he's in YOUR bed!" she called over her shoulder to Emily. Emily nodded.  
  
Harry, in an effort to escape the crowd, unfurled his wings and flew upwards to the roof of the cavern. He sat on a ledge high above the dancing crowd, catching his breath. "Damn! Flying is hard work!"  
  
So why don't you just levitate?" Draco asked dryly, floating right in front of him.  
  
"Because flying is more fun." Harry stretched his wings and his arms at the same time, missing the look of pure lust in Draco's eyes.  
  
Severus stood up on the stage, his shirt missing and his hair totally mussed. "DRINKING CONTEST!!!!!" he screamed over the din of the crowd. Harry and Draco stared at each other mischievously and flew to the stage.  
  
"So, Uncle Sev, where's the contest?" Draco asked, his eyes shining at the prospect to even more alcohol.  
  
"Ummmm, let's see. How about here?" Severus slurred slightly, waving at the stage blearily. Harry jumped back as his uncle's arm almost smacked him across the chest.  
  
"What're we drinking?" Harry asked, stumbling back and almost falling off the platform. He waved his arms wildly, trying to regain his balance. Only Draco's grabbing him by the leather band around his neck kept him from falling onto Neville and Seamus below him. Draco hauled him back onto the stage.  
  
"I'm yanking you around by the collar..." Draco sang impishly. Harry groaned, shaking his head.  
  
Neville climbed onto the stage. "I'm mixing drinks for the contest," he announced determinedly.  
  
Severus stared at him in shock. "And, Mr. Longbottom, what makes you think YOU can mix drinks? You're barely functional in Potions; what makes you think you'll be any better at this?"  
  
Neville gulped but stood his ground and pulled out his wallet. He held up a wizarding bartender's license in his hand determinedly. "I got this last summer and it's been my summer job ever since."  
  
Severus raised both eyebrows, impressed. "Very well, Mr. Longbottom," he said in a rare act of kindness. "Mix away."  
  
Neville's eyes widened in shock at the compliment. Quickly, he got to work. "I call these Suicides," he announced proudly, holding up a shot glass. He summoned a bottle of Everclear, a bottle of Bailey's Irish Crème, a bottle of chocolate sauce and a bottle of Caramel. He filled it three fourths of the way with Everclear. He swirled, in rapid succession, Bailey's, the chocolate, and the caramel into the shot, filling the glass. "Three is the maximum and you're usually done. I've never seen anyone put away more, even starting sober."  
  
"We'll see about that, Mr. Longbottom. You may be surprised," Severus boasted.  
  
"What're the rules?" Seamus asked.  
  
Severus looked around, noticing for the first time that the entire Chamber was silent and everyone was crowded around the stage. "First, the stage has to be bigger," he said, wracking his inebriated brain. "Second, we need a table, and third, we need to know how many people are in." Quickly, the stage enlarged and a square table appeared in the center.  
  
"I'm in!" Seams yelled. Harry and Draco quickly voiced their interest, and Xander appeared on the stage.  
  
"A drinking contest and no one invited me?" he asked, tisking. "For shame."  
  
Severus raised his eyebrows again. "Anyone else?" he asked. Ron stood up and walked over to the stage.  
  
"Can I join?" he slurred already wobbling. Darius climbed up behind him, followed by Gaila, Michael and Olivia.  
  
Severus smirked. "Sure, why not. Neville, can you make about...oh, one hundred of these?" he asked idly.  
  
Neville's jaw dropped from first his feared Potions Master calling him by his first name and second because that much Everclear is lethal. "Um, Ok," he stuttered slightly and waved his hand. Immediately, two more bottles of Everclear appeared and ninety nine more shot glasses. The bottles poured themselves, mixing 100 perfect Suicides in less than a minute. Severus arranged them in a descending spiral in the center of the table.  
  
"Ok, the rules are as follows: We line up at the tableside and take the shot in front of us. The person drinking, moves to the end of the line and takes the next shot and so on. The person who can not only continue drinking but continue standing and walking the longest wins. Got it?" Everyone nodded their assent. "Good, let's begin."  
  
Severus stood at the first drink. Draco moved next to him, followed by Seamus, Darius then Harry, Gaila, Olivia, Xander, Michael, and finally Ron. Severus threw his Suicide back, gasping at the line of fire going from his mouth to his stomach. "I stand corrected, Mr. Longbottom. You do have talent. Display this kind of talent in your Potions class and you'll get an Outstanding!" Neville blushed, stammering his thanks.  
  
Severus stalked around Ron and took his place to take the next drink. Draco followed him. They went through the line twice before suffering their first casualty: Ron. He passed out, falling off the stage immediately after ingesting his second drink. Hermione carried her unconscious boyfriend to a couch and lay him down.  
  
Harry bowed out next, after five, unable to walk. He haphazardly floated above the stage, still watching avidly. Darius was next out, as he threw up everything he had drunk all over Dudley and Susan. Dudley and Susan started screaming and Gabrielle immediately Apparated them back to the Hufflepuff Common Room so they could clean themselves off. Rowan, incredibly sleepy, decided to leave as well.  
  
The contest thinned out as Michael, Olivia, and Gaila called it quits after ten Suicides. Severus, Seamus, Draco and Xander were the only ones left with exactly thirty eight drinks to go. Severus quickly gulped down his twelfth, the other two following suit. Grimly, they continued, none of them giving an inch. The crowd, noticeably thinning out, cheered after each completed round. Xander finally lost in, falling from the stage after his eighteenth Suicide. Neville just stared at them, wondering how in the HELL they didn't have alcohol poisoning. Draco fell immediately after, still trying to crawl around the table to stay in the contest. Harry grabbed him and hauled him away from the booze.  
  
"Damnit, Harry, I could have won!" Draco protested from his soul mate's lap high above the table.  
  
"Bullshit. Now be quiet, I'm trying to watch!" Harry shushed him, rooting for Severus.  
  
It was down to Severus and Seamus, with less than fifteen to go. Severus and Seamus stalked around the table, refusing to back down. The crowd was silent, waiting to see who would fold first: the Snarky Potions Master or the Irishman?  
  
At ninety four shots total consumed, Severus folded, literally, sliding onto the table. Seamus poked his teacher's shoulder tentatively. "Umm, Professor? You ok?" Severus attempted to stand up but failed miserably, sliding to the floor instead. Seamus shrugged and summoned a pitcher. He poured the remaining six shots into the pitcher and chugged it. He dropped the pitcher, smacking his lips happily. "Oh...that hits the spot!" he laughed, shrugging shoulders. Everyone cheered.  
  
Draco had sobered enough to restart the music. He brightened as Hoobastank's The Reason started playing over the speakers. Those sober enough to dance pulled their dates close, dancing to the song.  
  
Harry and Draco still sat in the exact center of the room at least 15 feet above everyone else. Draco turned to Harry, shifting on the sexy Gryffindor's lap, and softly began singing.  
  
"I'm not a perfect person  
There's many things I wish I didn't do  
But I continue learning  
I never meant to do those things to you  
And so I have to say before I go  
That I just want you to know"  
  
Harry listened as Draco sang to him, smiling slightly at the choice of words/  
  
"I found a reason for me  
To change who I used to be  
A reason to start over new  
And that reason is you."  
  
Draco closed his eyes, realizing that he truly meant the words he was singing.  
  
"I'm sorry that I hurt you  
It's something I must live with every day  
And all the pain I put you through  
I wish I could take it all away  
And be the one who catches all your tears  
That's why I need you to hear"  
  
"You already are," murmured Harry. "No one else understands me like you do." Draco continued singing, his eyebrows raised fractionally.  
  
"I've found a reason for me  
To change who I used to be  
A reason to start over new  
And that reason is you  
And that reason is you  
And that reason is you  
And that reason is you  
  
Idly, Harry thought to himself,*you know, this would be wonderfully romantic if he didn't reek of booze. That kind of kills the mood.* Gaila and Olivia floated up by them, dancing with their respective soul mates  
  
*I hear ya, Harry. I hear ya,* Gaila remarked as she and Raphael danced a ridiculous tango in midair.  
  
"I'm not a perfect person,  
I never meant to do those things to you  
And So I have to say before I go  
That I just want you to know  
I found a reason for me  
To change who I used to be  
A reason to start over new  
And that reason is you"  
  
Harry was slowly falling asleep, lulled by Draco's soothing voice. "You sound like an angel, even drunk," he mumbled, half asleep. Draco carefully scooped Harry into his lap, reversing their positions, careful not to rouse his very sleepy soul mate.  
  
"I've found a reason to show  
A side of me you didn't know  
A reason for all that I do  
And that reason is you  
  
Draco slowly finished singing. Harry lay fast asleep in his arms. He carefully Apparated them back to their room, concentrating on not splinching them. He laid Harry, costume and all, on his bed and tucked him in.  
  
Draco grabbed the sobering and anti hangover potion he had left next to his bed almost ten hours ago. He downed it in one gulp, grimacing at the horrible taste. Immediately, his head cleared and he retained all his memories of the last ten or so hours.  
  
"Oh SHIT!" he yelped, staring at Harry in horror and shock. "No- We didn't we couldn't – FUCK!!!!!!" he yelled, running his hands through his hair. Harry groaned and turned over in his sleep. Draco immediately quieted.  
  
"Shit!" he swore vehemently at a near whisper. "He's gonna HATE me tomorrow!" He stole a glance at the peacefully slumbering Harry, repressing a shudder of lust. "God DAMN wings, they're so pretty, he's so pretty- NO DAMN IT!" Angrily, he stalked back and forth.  
  
Severus chose to Apparate into the room at that moment. "Draco?" he slurred, weaving and wobbling all over the room. "Isn't he uncomfortable with the wings?" he asked his godson.  
  
Draco repressed another shudder. *Those WINGS* he thought, to his dismay. "He's fine, Sev," he responded shortly. Severus nodded and sat down heavily on Eric's empty bed.  
  
"G'night, Draco. I can't find my bed so I'll stay here." Severus keeled over, unconscious, unto the bed.  
  
Draco sighed. "Oh I'm in trouble. Harry won't speak to me for ever after this and I don't blame him. I KNEW he hates being touched, and I still did it. I'm so screwed." With that, Draco turned out the lights and fell asleep, tossing and turning all night.  
  
A/N: WOW!!! YAY!!! This was SO MUCH FUN TO WRITE!!!!!! WHOOO HOOO!!!!! Ok, now that I'm done editing my own story, time to upload... did ya like? Did ya like? Anyway, I'm PISSED off!!! I heard on the radio and saw on TV: RAY COUNTY PEOPLE LISTEN UP!!!! (Ray County, Tennessee) Do NOT LET YOUR Governor OUTLAW HOMOSEXUALITY!!! It's sad but true, folks. The Gov. of Tenn. State is trying to outlaw Homosexuality in the ENTIRE state!! WE HAVE TO PROTEST!!!!! I think a mass orgy on the steps of the Capitol building..... gay, bisexual and lesbians only. WE DON'T HAVE TO HIDE, PEOPLE!!!! That PISSES me off. It is SO STUPID!! HOW DARE THEY KICK OUT GOOD PEOPLE FROM THEIR STATE JUST BECAUSE OF THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATION!!!!! GOD DAMN HOMOPHOBES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Hey, everyone. Well, don't celebrate yet. They are in no means together... ooh, you people are going to hate me insert evil laugh.  
  
Chapter 19  
  
A steady, growing heat, two bodies twined together, writhing in ecstasy and pain, comfort and the unknown. Harsh gasps permeated the air as they waged a battle for dominance, neither giving an inch. Mouths opened in silent screams of pleasure at each touch, caress, breath, kiss, lick, nip, suck, the list goes on and on. They don't care; they are past all point of caring. All they want is more, more, MORE. More touching, more kissing; their tongues are as caught up in the clash of wills as the rest of them. Hands grasp satin sheets, twining fingers in the cool, smooth contrast to the inferno that is inside. Fingers thread through silky hair, grasping, pulling; trying to gain some measure of control. It feels so good; this much pleasure should be outlawed. On and on they battle, caught up in the pleasure and the pain and the heat and the feeling of being alive.  
  
Hours, minutes, an eternity, a lifetime, a second later, time has no meaning, none at all, it all comes together in an explosion of love and passion and everything that makes humanity worthwhile. Silver eyes meet Emerald, the single, unspoken feeling of unconditional love shared in that intense, smoldering gaze. _You are mine and I am yours for all eternity. Nothing can change that, nothing can come between us. You are mine and I am yours._   
"HYYURRRRK!!!"  
  
Draco shot out of bed, eyes wide open. "WHAT THE FUCK!!!!" he screamed, still half in his dream. He stared at the sogginess in his lap in growing horror. "Oh noooo..." he moaned and angrily waved his hand. "Much better," he said grimly, crawling out of bed. Eric's bed was already empty, the sheets pristinely folded. Uncle Sev's already up. I wonder what time it is?  
  
"Oh hell... not again, HYYYUUURRRRKKKK!" Draco's head whipped around to the source of the nauseating sounds. He rushed into the bathroom and skidded to a halt.  
  
Harry, still in his long hair, wings and just a pair of boxers, was crouched over the toilet, throwing his guts up. "Ohhhh..." he moaned, holding his aching head.  
  
Draco snickered, shaking his head. Harry whipped around, clutching the porcelain basin for support. "You bastard," moaned Harry, squinting his eyes against the light. His face turned an alarming shade of green and he turned back to the toilet. "HYYYUURK!"  
  
Draco grimaced and walked over to Harry. "Now what have we learned from this experience?" he asked conversationally.  
  
Harry glared and him and flipped him the bird, once again leaning over the toilet. "I've learned- HYUURK- that you are a complete- HYUURK- bastard and should be shot." Harry wiped his hand over his mouth, grimacing.  
  
"Well I guess I won't take away your hangover, then. See ya." Draco turned and started to walk out of the bathroom. Harry shot his hand out and grabbed his ankle.  
  
"Oh NO you don't. Fix me NOW!!!" Harry demanded weakly, still dry heaving.  
  
Draco rolled his eyes. "Fine." Pale blue encompassed the hung over Gryffindor. Harry's nausea disappeared and his headache eased.  
  
Blinking, Harry stood up. "Thanks, Draco," he said weakly. He tottered back to bed, sliding under the covers.  
  
"What are you doing?" Draco asked curiously. "Aren't you coming to breakfast?"  
  
"I had nightmares all night. I'm going back to sleep." Harry turned over before Draco could see the hurt in his eyes. _And you didn't help me out of them once,_ Harry thought despondently, closing his eyes and willing himself back to sleep.  
  
  
  
Draco dressed quickly and rushed out of the Slytherin Dorms, all but running into the Great Hall. _What the HELL happened to bring on that DREAM???_ He skidded into a seat at the Slytherin Tables next to Blaise, Seamus and Ginny and across from Emily, Neville, Luna and Eric. "Good morning."  
  
Blaise and Ginny grinned at Draco devilishly. "And what did YOU do last night that caused you to leave the party hours before us?" Ginny asked, smirking.  
  
Draco paled. "Nothing," he stated coolly, wracking his brain. "What happened last night?" he asked casually.  
  
Blaise stared at him in shock. "You mean you don't remember?" he asked, shocked.  
  
"Not really, why?" Draco prayed that he hadn't made a fool of himself.  
  
No such luck. Blaise leaned over and whispered exactly what he had done to Harry the night before. "You mean I-" Blaise grabbed Draco by the hair, shutting him up. Blaise continued to whisper in his ear; Draco's face steadily growing paler by the second. Bits and flashes of memories threaded their way through Draco's mind. _The Jell-o Shot wasn't just a dream then,_ he thought numbly. _Harry's gonna KILL me!  
  
_ Draco sat very still, his face the color of cottage cheese. Ginny stared at him with concern, her worry for his mentally well being apparent. _Oh no oh no oh no oh no_ was the only thing running through the distraught Slytherin's mind. _Maybe if I pretend it never happened... OH GOD! I KNEW what happened to him. I KNEW!!! I still treated him like that. I NEVER should have touched him. I KNEW that he freaks out when he's touched because of his uncle! I wouldn't be surprised if he NEVER forgives me! I am SO screwed!!!!  
_  
Miserably, Draco dropped his head to the table with a loud BANG. At that moment, Severus walked through the door, an evil smirk on his face. "Someone forgot to put silencing charms on his bed last night," he stated with manic glee. Draco's face turned an alarming shade of green and he sprinted from the Hall, about to throw up.  
  
Severus stared after him, grinning. The entire Hall was silent, wondering what in the world could have happened to make the Slytherin Sex God toss his cookies. Excited whispers broke out, speculating wildly about the possibilities.  
  
Severus stared, concerned, before rushing after his Godson. Really, he had only been teasing. He hadn't heard ANYTHING, which made him wonder.... "Draco?" he called anxiously, searching for his elusive Godson. After ten nerve wracking minutes, he found Draco on the second floor in the Prefects bathroom, alternating between throwing up and sobbing.  
  
"Go- away- please," Draco gasped out when he saw Severus in the doorway.  
  
Severus cocked an eyebrow. "And why would I do that? The pictures of this moment alone would secure my financial income for the rest of my life!" he teased, hoping to get a rise out of Draco.  
  
Draco just sighed. "Whatever." He turned back to the toilet, dry heaving.  
  
"Didn't you take the hangover and sobriety potion?" Severus asked, kneeling besides him.  
  
"Yes, and this has nothing to do with that and everything to do with something that's none of your business so go away!" Draco snapped, tears streaking down his face.  
  
Severus scowled. "Don't you DARE take that tone with me, young man. Now what in HELL is the matter with you?"  
  
"I screwed up and now I'm paying for it. Happy?" Draco angrily wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, grimacing at the horrible aftertaste. He weakly stood, swaying and walked carefully over to the sink, rinsing his mouth.  
  
Severus stared at Draco in astonishment. "What did you do this time?"  
  
"I took advantage of someone and now that person hates me. Now I want to wallow in self pity for a while, so if you'll excuse me," Draco said despondently, hanging his head. He wiped a tear from his face and fled the bathroom, Apparating in midstep.  
  
Severus raised both eyebrows. "And Minerva wonders why I never procreated. See exhibit A." He shook his head and walked back into the Great Hall.  
  
  
  
Harry rolled over as soon as Draco left. "I'm never going to get back to sleep. Besides, I don't really want to. I have no wish to have any more nightmares." He sighed and stood up, walking to the bathroom. He looked in the mirror, seeing his pale skin and mussed hair. "I wonder why Draco didn't remove the wings before he went to sleep. Oh well." He quickly removed his wings and shoulder blade length hair, wishing he could keep the wings for a while longer. He stood under the shower for almost an hour, letting the water wash the tension from him.  
  
Drying himself off, he quickly pulled on a pair of black jeans and a black turtleneck. He sat back down on his bed, his mind flying in a million directions at once. "What to do? I know what happened last night, now what to do about it?" Harry wondered aloud, sitting cross-legged. Angrily he stood up. "I can't think!" He Apparated, landing in the center of the Quidditch Pitch. He floated there for about two minutes, when he spotted the Shrieking Shack in the distance. Already, he could hear students walking down to the Pitch for practice. "Man, and I wanted to be left alone!"  
  
Making up his mind, he Apparated to the room he remembered from third year inside the Shack. He landed on the dusty floor, kicking up clouds of grey dust everywhere. Coughing slightly, Harry quickly muttered "Scourgify", instantly cleaning the room. He conjured a beanbag chair and sprawled across it, immediately lost in thought.  
  
_All right, fact one. I am Draco's soul mate, which means we are meant for each other. Fact two, I trust him. Fact three, I do care about him. Fact four, he understands me better than anyone I know. Fact five, some really weird shit happened last night, involving Jell-O shots and singing. Fact six, I am not freaking out, strangely enough. Fact seven, I do think he is attractive. _Harry sat there for hours, not noticing how late it was or that he had missed all three meals. He was only aware of his train of thought and the formulating conclusion.  
  
  
  
Draco sat in the Astronomy Tower, lost in thought. _Harry is going to hate me. Wait a minute, how do I even know whether he remembers or not?_ Draco sat there on the window sill, lost in thoughts of his own. _I could pretend nothing happened, but if he remembers then he'll still hate me. I have to somehow convince him that I'm not going to do that again, my own feelings be damned. It really sucks, though. I do like him and find him extremely attractive._ An image of Harry last night, groaning as Draco licked the Jell-O off his chest, rose unbidden to Draco's mind.  
  
_ STOP!!! This is why you need shields! he told himself sternly. Harry would FREAK if he knew you were thinking of him like this! OK, plan for now. I have to convince Harry that I'm not going to do that again. Now, think. How to convince him?  
_  
His stomach rumbled, and, sighing, he walked down the stairs to the Great Hall for dinner. Again, he sat at the Slytherin Table, this time by himself at the other end of the table. Ginny stared at him, concerned, but restrained Blaise and Emily from rushing over. "I think he needs some time alone, guys," she whispered.  
  
Draco remained oblivious, glumly stirring Broccoli Cheddar soup. He absently crumpled a cracker into the bowl and took a cautious sip. He was blissfully unaware that all eyes were on him as he ate in silence. _All right, so I have to think of something to do that'll convince Harry that I won't hurt him. _He finally lifted his head, his slightly bloodshot eyes taking in all the people staring at him. "WHAT??" he yelled, causing almost everyone to jump and go back to what they were doing. Emily and Ginny stared at Draco, worried. At the Teacher's table, Severus did the same. A cool pair of cerulean blue eyes at the Ravenclaw table appraised at him in an entirely different way.  
  
Draco glanced at the teenage brunette sitting at the Ravenclaw Table across from Cho Chang._ Francesca, I think that's her name,_ he thought idly while debating a course of action. _What do I do?_ Slowly, to his well hidden astonishment, she winked at him and turned back to her salad. He cocked an eyebrow and concentrated on his soup, mentally grinning. _Yep, even after last night, I STILL have it!_ He hurriedly finished and left the Hall, heading back to the Astronomy Tower.  
  
He sat back in the window, still panicking. After a minute, he replayed the wink in his mind, forming a plan. _Wait- she winked at me, which means she digs me. I GOT IT!!! If I date her, then Harry won't feel like I'm going to pressure him for us to have a relationship together. It could work, but I'm really not attracted to her. I guess I really am gay_. He grimaced at the thought.  
  
  
  
Harry still sprawled on the bean bag, lost in thought. Outside, the sun was setting in a brilliance of colors. _All right, if I don't freak out and we take this slowly, I think it's doable. I WANT this, I know I do. So, now, how do I get Draco to realize that I want to pursue a relationship with him and that I'm not freaked out by all this? I mean, Uncle Sev said he must be attracted to me, considering his reaction. And, he sang that song to me (and ate Jell-O off my bare chest). He MUST feel something for me.  
_  
Harry thought for a minute. _Honesty is the best policy, even though it means a whole lot of talking that I don't want to do. Why did he shut me out like that? It would make things so much easier if I could just feel his mind and tell him that way. Oh well, I guess I have to do this the old fashioned way: actual verbal communication. God I hope I don't screw this up.  
_  
Harry left the Shrieking Shack at the base of the Whomping Willow, determined to find his soul mate and make things right. He stalked past the Quidditch Pitch, ignoring the whispers from the students just messing around on the Quidditch Pitch. He stalked through the front doors of the school, his face drawn in a thundercloud of concentration. Anxiously, he expanded his mind, searching for Draco's location. Surprisingly, he found him- right outside the Ravenclaw Common Room.  
  
Harry hurried to the Ravenclaw Dorms, wondering what the hell Draco was doing over there. He rounded the corner and stopped dead in his tracks. _THE FUCK...  
_  
Draco stood, his left arm propping him against the wall, leaning over a pretty Ravenclaw. From where Harry stood, it was obvious that they were flirting, as she kept playing with her hair as she looked up with adoring eyes and Draco was leaning over her, grinning mischievously. Harry's eyes went wide in shock as his soul mate dropped his chin, leaned even more forward and KISSED the bitch. _OH MY GOD, NO._ Harry slammed his shields into place, angrily willing the tears stinging his eyes to be kept at bay.  
  
Draco turned after the kiss had ended, noticing Harry standing there for the first time. He cocked an eyebrow as if to say "What?" Harry shook his head and plastered his Golden Boy mask into place. He smiled brightly and shrugged his shoulders. Draco grinned and turned back to the Ravenclaw. _Whore, _Harry thought venomously.  
  
Harry turned and walked away easily, forcing a spring in his step. _No one will see you cry, Potter. Golden Boys don't cry. _Inside, Harry's heart shattered into a million pieces. He mentally scooped them up and finally ran, Apparating in mid step. He reappeared in his dorm room and landed on his bed, immediately pulling the curtains shut. He lay there all night, finally hearing Draco come in around one in the morning. Harry lay there until it was time to get up, inconsolable. _It meant nothing to him. I meant nothing to him_ was his only thought.  
  
  
  
The next morning at 5:30, before anyone else was awake; Harry quietly showered and dressed, leaving for the Great Hall. He sat alone at the Slytherin table for almost an hour and a half, eating breakfast and working on both his Potions Essay and the shield for the Killing Curse for his Spellwriting class. Let's see, the properties of Basilisk Blood are... He looked back and forth between the two assignments. The properties are a boost in magical power, increasing whatever abilities the person has. _THAT'S IT!!!_  
  
Hurriedly, he started to write a potion that, hopefully would allow the person ingesting it to have the sheer power to repel Avada Kedavra._ Now this potion would be used in conjunction with the shield we had been working on,_ Harry checked himself. He and Draco had worked on that shield together and now... _Now what? Is he even going to want to work with me? Do I even want to work with him? Or, will he be too busy with his new fuck toy? I can't believe that I trusted him. Really, he's the Sex God of Slytherin. Like he'd EVER be monogamous.  
_  
A small voice in the back of his head replied. _Uncle Sev's a good guy and he was voted that for five years in a row.  
_  
Angrily, Harry shoved that voice away. _Be quiet, brain, or I'll stab you with a Q tip!_ he ordered himself, repeating a phrase he had seen on a Tee Shirt a while back. _Besides, who'd want to be with me? I'm damaged goods.  
_  
The first couple of students pushed through the doors of the Great Hall, yawning and rubbing their eyes. Harry abruptly stood and Apparated to the Chamber of Secrets, looking for privacy and quiet until his Care of Magical Creatures class at 9:30.  
  
  
  
_So does it work in midair? _Came the teasing question. Silver eyes locked with Emerald.  
  
_ I don't see why not._ Emerald Eyes gleamed with mirth.  
  
_So come on then_. They spiraled higher and higher, shrouded in a bubble of invisibility. Emerald's greedy hands grasped and caressed, anxious to feel more of the delicious body underneath his; teasing, touching all the right places. Silver threaded his hands through now shoulder blade length ebony hair. _I know how much you like me like this, Silver.  
  
_ _More, please God, more,_ he begged, pleaded, desperate for him, his Emerald, desperate to feel him inside of him. Emerald kept teasing him, to his dismay. _Damn it, Emerald!  
  
_ Emerald grinned evilly, and continued to caress Silver, working his way down the lithe, muscular body. Silver groaned, almost out of his mind with desperation. "DAMN IT, HARRY!!!"  
  
Draco awoke with a start. "FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK!!!" he screamed, slamming his head against his pillow to accent each obscenity.  
  
In the other bed, Eric groaned and shoved a pillow over his head. "Draco, shut the FUCK up!!!!" he moaned, trying to go back to sleep.  
  
Draco started punching his pillow. "STUPID- FUCKING- DREAMS!!!!!!" he pounded away, trying to bring himself back into control of his emotions. "FUCK!!!" he screamed again running his hands through his hair in exasperation.  
  
Eric rolled over. "What dreams?" he asked slyly.  
  
Draco roared in frustration. "The ones where I can feel him and it's so wonderful and it's NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN!!!!" He glared at Eric suspiciously. "Why am I telling you this?"  
  
Eric only grinned in reply. Draco cursed vividly and rolled out of bed. He staggered over to the bathroom and prepared for school.  
  
  
  
Harry successfully avoided Draco all week, which was very hard to do, seeing that they were in every class together, as well as Potions, Spellwriting, and Runes partners. He slept less and less, only getting about two or three hours of rest a night. Dark circles appeared under his eyes that he covered with a continuous Glamour. Quidditch Practice was strained and tense, with Ginny stuck in the middle of the unbearable silence.  
  
Draco finally cornered him Friday afternoon after the Wandless and Elemental magic training. "Potter, what the hell is wrong with you? Why are you avoiding me?"  
  
Harry glared at him; finally letting the mask he had constructed and held for five days shatter into a million pieces. He stared at Draco, a lone tear trickling down his face. "I don't know, Draco, maybe it has something to do with the way you treated me!" he snapped.  
  
Draco recoiled from the rage and pain on his soul mate's face. Desperate to understand, he lowered his shields, only to be rebuffed by a mental concrete wall surrounding Harry. "Why are you forcing me out? Is this about the party?"  
  
Harry's face contorted with rage. "Whatever gave you that idea?" he sneered, advancing on Draco menacingly.  
  
"You stopped talking to me right after," Draco replied hesitantly, unsure of what was happening.  
  
"Ten points to Slytherin for finally using your brain," Harry spat venomously.  
  
Draco's face contorted, finally angry. "What the FUCK, Potter??? Who shoved a stick up your ass? I'm sorry, all right? I was plastered and you were stoned. Besides, I didn't hear you complaining. You did agree to it, as I recall. It won't happen again. Happy now?"  
  
Harry's face froze. "You're right, I did agree. And I had no problem with it then. It really meant nothing to you?" he asked, his anger slipping by degrees. From inside the safety of his shields, he pleaded _Please say it meant something, please say it meant anything. I don't want to be another conquest for you.  
  
_ Draco sighed. "No, Harry, it didn't mean anything and I'm sorry. I promise I won't do it ever again. I know what happened to you and I won't touch you," he said, hiding his sadness. _Even though I want you desperately,_ he continued from behind his shields._ Damn it, I can't even lie to myself, all right, I need you, Harry. But you can't stand being touched. I know how it brings back memories you don't need replayed.  
_  
Harry froze. _I knew it, I'm used goods and he doesn't want me. God, I hate myself._ He turned and walked away, leaving an extremely confused and unhappy Slytherin in his wake.  
  
_What do I do now? _Draco thought miserably. He turned and walked in the opposite direction.  
  
Four pairs of eyes watched that display with ill concealed rage. "What the fuck are they playing at?" demanded Lily to Severus, Remus and James.  
  
"Lils, Harry isn't going to want to be touched like that. He's freaking out about it, most probably. You know what happened to him," James reasoned, trying to sooth the tempers of the people around him. No such luck.  
  
"James, that's our SON!! Draco is making him suffer!!!" Lily protested.  
  
"So my Godson just admitted that he feels nothing for Harry. I'm gonna kill that little prick," growled Severus angrily. "Little fucker! So he won't touch Harry because of what happened to him. I swear to God..."  
  
Remus interrupted him. "Something smelled weird about the two of them. They were hiding something. I don't think Harry was freaking out about what happened, James. And, Severus, Draco didn't smell like he meant the whole part about it not meaning anything. I think it meant a great deal to him."  
  
"So what the fuck are they doing?" Lily demanded.  
  
"I think Harry wants a relationship but Draco doesn't know and thinks he is freaking out. So, he has put his feelings aside in what he thinks is the best course of action for Harry," Remus thought out loud, putting everything together.  
  
Severus shook his head, grinning slowly. "Do we get involved or do we let this play out?"  
  
"Let it play out. I wonder how long it'll take them to realize." Lily grinned mischievously.  
  
"All right, but we step in if one of them (or both) comes to harm, agreed?" James asked. Everyone nodded.  
  
"Good, let's go then. I'm hungry." James led them to the Great Hall.  
  
  
  
Harry glumly walked down the Hallway. _I deserve this, all of this. I wish I could just die already.  
_  
His thoughts were interrupted by the Headmaster. "Ah, Harry. Just the person I was looking for."  
  
"Yes, Headmaster?" Harry asked woodenly.  
  
"Can I have a word with you, please?" Grimacing, Harry allowed himself to be led into the Heamaster's Office.  
  
"Harry, would you like a Lemon Drop or some tea?" Dumbledore asked kindly.  
  
"No, thank you, sir," Harry replied, staring at the floor._Can we get this over with? _he thought morosely. He didn't notice Dumbledore's eyes twinkle madly.  
  
"Mr. Potter?" Harry lifted his head. "So, how are the new classes going? Are Alanna and Xander proving to be adequate teachers?"  
  
"Yes sir," Harry replied, confused.  
  
"And what have they taught you? Are you learning anything that'll aid you in our war?" Dumbledore asked, unusually severe.  
  
Harry stared at him strangely. What in the world??? "Um, I don't know what you mean, sir."  
  
Dumbledore sighed. "Fine, Harry. I'll cut right to the quick. Are Alanna and Xander useful to our cause? Are they teaching you how to defeat Voldemort?"  
  
Harry stared at him incredulously. "Um, yes..." he trailed off. _They're demigods. What else would they be teaching, knitting???  
_  
"What have you been learning and are they good instructors?" Dumbledore persisted. "Have you planned anything?"  
  
Harry stared at him. "I have mastered Apparation, Oculemency and Legimency, Wandless magic, Animagus transformations and Elemental magic. I no longer use a wand, as you no doubt are aware of. As for planning, why do you want to know?"  
  
Dumbledore stared at him, all twinkle gone from his eyes. "Because I am Headmaster of this school and leader of the Order of the Phoenix. I want to know if they are assets or not!" He stood up and began pacing. "Harry, you still don't understand. You are our only hope to defeat Voldemort. You MUST be prepared. I have tried to let you have a normal childhood, but it's time to prepare for war." He stood at his window, looking out over the grounds.  
  
Something inside Harry finally snapped and he leapt to his feet, furious. "NORMAL CHILDHOOD????" he roared, snarling. "YOU CALL BEING RAPED AND MOLESTED NORMAL????? YOU CALL BEING CALLED A FREAK AND WORTHLESS NORMAL???? YOU SICK, TWISTED BASTARD!!!!!"  
  
Dumbledore whipped around, infuriated. "YOU INGRATE!!! YOU UNGRATEFUL BRAT!!!!! I COULD HAVE LET THE DEATH EATERS KILL YOU AND THAT IS HOW YOU REPAY ME? BY SWEARING AT ME???" The figures in the portraits fled to their other paintings, terrified of what was surely imminent death and destruction if they stuck around. Fawkes shot out the window, searching for a safe place to hide.  
  
"DEATH IS PREFERABLE TO BEING YOUR UNCLE'S BITCH FOR FIFTEEN YEARS!!!!!!" Harry shot back, advancing. They stood almost toe to toe, not budging an inch. "I WOULD RATHER BE DEAD THAN LIVE THE LIFE I'VE BEEN FORCED INTO!!!!" Harry screamed, tears streaming down his face.  
  
A verdant force shot out of Harry as he lost control over his magic. The entire office quaked and enormous cracks appeared in the walls as Harry subconsciously reformed the stone that held up the very walls. Dumbledore's desk exploded and the windows shattered. Dumbledore jumped and stared at Harry fearfully. "Oh shit..." he muttered, throwing up a heavy duty shield. The stones exploded, the walls crumpling.  
  
Where Dumbledore's office had been was now an open section of the castle and a pile of rubble. Harry, still furious and terrified of the power coursing through him, only an infinitesimal amount which he had actually used, Apparated suddenly out of the demolished room.  
  
Dumbledore blinked owlishly. "If he displays that much power in the final battle, we have nothing to worry about!" He stared at his ruined office in dismay. "But did he have to trash my office to prove his point?"  
  
  
  
Harry Apparated straight to the Chamber of Secrets, his clothes whipping around him from the sheer energy he was commanding. The Chamber instantly reformed to fit his needs- the floor was now a foam mat six inches thick and punching, kicking and target bags, suspiciously shaped like Vernon, Dumbledore and Draco hung from the cavernous ceiling. Harry's clothes transfigured into a pair of cross trainers and baggy cotton pants. Padded gloves appeared on his hands and Linkin Park's Numb blasted over the speakers.  
  
I'm tired of being what you want me to be  
  
Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface  
  
I don't know what you're expecting of me  
  
Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes  
  
Harry slowly began slamming his fists into the bags, building a rhythm. Furious, he slammed his fists into the bags around him. He punched harder and harder, feeling the tension inside of him start to diminish.  
  
Every step that I take is another mistake to you  
  
I've become so numb I can't feel you there (left hook right cross)  
  
Become so tired so much more aware (front snap kick, roundhouse)  
  
I'm becoming this All I want to do  
  
Is be more like me and be less like you  
  
Harry spun, kicking the body bag behind him. Why didn't I think of this earlier? he wondered to himself. This is actually fun! Harry summoned his daggers, hefting them experimentally.  
  
Can't you see that you're smothering me  
  
Holding too tightly afraid to loose control  
  
Harry spun, impaling the closest target bag with one of the curved blades.  
  
Cuz everything that you thought I would be  
  
Is falling apart right in front of you  
  
He pulled out the knife and experimentally slashed the next bag to ribbons. SWEET!!! he thought, amazed at the sharpness of the blades and the ease of which he could slice through canvas and padding.  
  
Every second I take is another mistake to you  
  
And every second I waste is more than I can take  
  
He whirled, kicking and slashing the target and punching bags around him. They didn't stand a chance. Vernon was decapitated as well as having his genital regions in tatters. Dumbledore's nose was chopped off, his twinkling eyes gouged out, and then decapitated and shredded. Harry saved Draco for last.  
  
I've become so numb I can't feel you there  
  
Become so tired so much more aware  
  
I'm becoming this all I want to do  
  
Is be more like me and be less like you  
  
And I know I may end up failing too  
  
But I know you were just like me  
  
With someone disappointed in you  
  
Harry shook his head slowly, tears at long last sliding down his face. "Why, Draco, why?" he asked aloud brokenly. "Even now, with you ripping me to shreds, I can't do anything in return." Harry sank to the ground and wept bitterly.  
  
I've become so numb I can't feel you there  
  
Become so tired so much more aware  
  
I'm becoming this all I want to do  
  
Is be more like me and be less like you  
  
I've become so numb  
  
I'm tired of being what you want me to be  
  
I've become so tired  
  
Is everything what you want of me  
  
Draco stood in the shadows, desperately wanting to go comfort his soul mate. _GO TO HIM, IDIOT!!!_ his mind screamed at him. _But I'm the cause of his pain. He doesn't want me there. Didn't you hear? I ripped him to shreds. I'm the last person he wants to see,_ he argued with himself. Sighing silently, he Apparated away; leaving Harry to face his demons alone.  
  
  
  
Six year old Harry lay on the floor, semiconscious. A dark shadow loomed over him. Harry screamed in agony as Vernon squatted down and picked him up by the hair, pulling him to eye level. A viscous backhand across the face shut him up abruptly. Harry hung in midair, eerily silent.  
  
"You worthless freak! How dare you use that abomination in this house!" A sick grin wormed its way onto Vernon's face. "You need to be punished!" he whispered gleefully.  
  
Harry's eyes widened and his small frame shook as he tried to free himself from Vernon's immovable grasp. Vernon shook him, hard, rattling his skull and giving him a concussion. He threw Harry against the wall, blood gushing from the impact site. Harry lay on the floor, dazed, slipping in and out of consciousness as he felt Vernon grasp him around the waist and rip his pants from his body. He stared into Vernon's face and watched in terrified fascination as it shifted to Clautius.  
  
Harry, in a moment of lucidness, saw Draco standing over Clautius's shoulder. _Help me, please!!!_ Harry pleaded with his soul mate.  
  
Draco sneered. Why would I help you? You deserve this. You know you do.  
  
Blackness.  
  
Harry shot out of his bed, fists crammed into his mouth to muffle his screams. He panted harshly, his breath coming in short gasps. He wearily called up the time. _Great, it's 4:30 am. What the HELL am I going to do until everyone else wakes up?  
_  
Harry crawled out of bed, unwilling to fall back asleep. "No way in hell am I subjecting myself to that again," he said aloud grimly, listening to the peaceful sounds of snoring and slumber coming from the two other beds. He walked quietly over to the bathroom, emerging ten minutes later fully dressed.  
  
_Hmm, haven't been to the spring in a while,_ he thought in a burst of inspiration. _I can do homework while relaxing there. _He looked at the cage next to his bed thoughtfully. _Hmm, I wonder if Isis would like to go. She hasn't wanted to leave her cage for a while, and I've been so busy._ Taking a deep breath, he Apparated straight into the magically expanded cage.  
  
He landed in the middle of a desert. Palm trees swayed gracefully in the distance. "ISSSSSSISSSSSS" he yelled in Parseltongue. He walked over to the oasis, her favorite basking spot. He found her curled up on a rock. "Hello, Isssisss" he hissed.  
  
She arched up, awoken from her nap. "Hello, Massssster Harry. It has almost been a week since the last time you came to visit. How are you?" she hissed back, slithering over. She curled up on his lap and he absently stroked her scales.  
  
"I am fine, and you?" Harry tried to keep the fatigue and pain from his voice.  
  
"You are lying to me, Masssster. What issssss wrong?" Isis reared up to look him straight in the eyes.  
  
"Draco and I are fighting," he stated simply, his mouth twisting as if he tasted something bitter.  
  
"Why?" she queried.  
  
"I thought he cared for me and he proved that he doesssssn't. It'sssss no big deal." Harry tried to smile.  
  
"Bull ssssssshit. I'll bite him!" The snake hissed angrily, darting her head back and forth.  
  
"Pleassssse, jusssst let it go. He did hurt me, but I expected more than he could give me." Harry closed his eyes wearily.  
  
"He isssssss your ssssoul mate. He issss ssssssuposssssed to give you the moon and the sssstars if you assssssk for it!" demanded the now furious snake. "What did he do?"  
  
"He kisssssssed another perssssson if front of me after we had taken our relatssssssionssship to a new level." Harry was too tired and sad to argue with the snake. Besides, it feels good to talk it out with someone finally.  
  
Isis hissed, too angry to formulate words. "THAT BASSSSSSSTARD!!!!!!!" she finally exploded, curling around Harry's neck. "Ssssssay no more, Massssster Harry. Relax for a while. The ssssssun issssss nicsssssse today, issssss it not?"  
  
"It issss, Isssssisssss, and thank you." Harry sat in the sun for an hour just basking with his cobra.  
  
Harry finally checked the time. "It'ssssss almost ssssix o'clock, Issssissss. Would you like to vissssssssit a hot sssssspring with me?"  
  
Isis opened a sleepy eye. "Are there nicsssssse micsssssse and other animals to eat?" she queried.  
  
"Yesssssssss."  
  
"Will your ssssssstupid sssssssoul mate be there?"  
  
"Maybe. He might come later."  
  
"Then I will go with you for sssssssupport."  
  
Heartened by the thought, with Isis wrapped around his shoulders, he Apparated back to his room. He gathered his Runes, Potions, Spellwriting and Creatures homework and Apparated to the spring, Isis still safe around his neck.  
  
Harry appeared in the clearing next to the spring. He carefully placed his textbooks on the ground. Isis slithered off his shoulders and slipped into the undergrowth to hunt. A sad smile graced his features. He shook his head and stripped down to a pair of transfigured swim trunks. He slid into the steaming water, hissing in pleasure. _Oh, this was a good idea,_ he thought languidly.  
  
Stretching, he conjured a wooden island for his books and levitated them over. He started working on translating his Runes assignment. He finished a half an hour later, just as Isis slid out of a bush, a lump in her middle. "Did you find ssssomething tassssssty?" Harry asked, looking up from his studies.  
  
"A young, plump rabbit. It was exsssssstremely tassssty. Thank you for bringing me with you, Massssster." She settled in a tide pool next to Harry, basking in the steam from the spring.  
  
"You're welcome to come with me whenever you want, you know." Harry turned back to his now completed Runes assignment with a sigh. "One down, three to go," he muttered to himself. He levitated his completed homework so it wouldn't get wet and summoned his Potions essays.  
  
  
  
Lily and James walked into the Dorm room. Hey, Harry, wake up! they called mentally. James quickly scanned the room, his eyebrow lifted in surprise. "He's not there, Lils," he said in surprise.  
  
Lily shrugged and expanded her mind, searching for her elusive son. "He's out in the spring. What is he doing there at this hour?" she asked incredulously. Sev, it's seven o'clock. Wake up! She sent to her brother, feeling his sleep mind stir towards wakefulness.  
  
They Apparated from the Dorms straight to the spring.  
  
  
  
Severus rolled over groaning. "Lils?" he asked sleepily. Groaning, he checked the time. "Seven already? Damn..." Still only half awake, he found his niece's mind. _Ginny, it's time to wake up now, it's seven o'clock,_ he sent telepathically.  
  
_ I'm up, I'm up,_ she groused, half asleep._ It's a weekend, Uncle Sev, so why are you waking me at this ungodly hour?  
_  
Severus chuckled mentally. _Because I'm mean and horrible and live to make your life hell?_ he asked, sitting up.  
  
Ginny Apparated straight to his room and slammed him across the head with her pillow. Severus fell back onto his bed, shocked. "MISS WEASELEY!!!!! YOUY DELIBERATELY ATTACKED A TEACHER!!!!" he yelled, laughing.  
  
Ginny glared at him. "You're mean," she scowled petulantly, Apparating from the room in a huff.  
  
Severus cocked an eyebrow. "That girl is SOOO strange," he remarked to the empty room._ Draco, Emily, Eric, Blaise, time to wake up! _He could feel his favorite students slowly stir towards wakefulness, completely missing the fact that Draco had only rolled over and gone back to sleep.  
  
_Severus, when you're ready, join us at the hot spring. Harry's here with Isis. You didn't tell me you bought my son one of the most poisonous snakes on the market- HOLY SHIT, HOLY SHIT, HE'S A PARSELMOUTH??????_  
  
Severus sighed and walked to the shower. _Yes, Lily, he is a Parselmouth.  
  
_.  
  
Ginny woke up Luna, Luna woke up Neville, and Neville woke up Seamus.  
  
_ Uncle Sev, what are we doing today?_ Ginny asked him once she had had a cup of coffee in the Great Hall.  
  
_ Well, Lily and James are at the hot spring with Harry, so why don't we join them?_ Ginny grinned, spreading the word. As one, Emily, Eric, Blaise, Seamus, Neville, Luna and Ginny stood up and Apparated from the Great Hall.  
  
  
  
Harry sat in the relaxing, steaming water with his Mum and Dad. Isis watched and listened intently to the conversation.  
  
"So, Harry, you mind telling us what's going on? You and Draco aren't even talking to each other." Lily floated over to her son.  
  
"Mum, I swear I'm fine. Nothing's happening. We just had a bit of a fight, that's all." Harry suddenly found his fingernails very interesting, his homework forgotten.  
  
"Bull shit, Harold James Potter, we want answers!" James barked from his seat across from Isis.  
  
Harry opened his mouth and quickly shut it as everyone else chose to Apparate into the clearing at that moment.  
  
_ DAMN IT, SEV! YOU HAVE THE WORST TIMING!!!_ Lily berated her brother.  
  
_What did I do?_ Severus asked, confused.  
  
_We were about to get Harry to tell us what's wrong when you guys showed up and he shut up tighter than a clam!_ James added, glaring at his brother in law.  
  
_Oops. So sorry._ Everyone climbed into the spring and the peace was shattered by the water fight that erupted.  
  
  
  
Draco awoke slowly, still half in his dream. _Harry, must get to Harry,_ he thought anxiously. _I've been an ass and need to apologize_. He could vaguely remember the dream. Vernon was hurting him, then it turned to Clautius, and he couldn't move, couldn't even blink. It was like he was programmed or something. He even told Harry Why would I help you? You deserve this. You know you do. He couldn't control it. It was like he was under the Imperious.  
  
Groggily he got out of bed, noticing that he was the only one there. _What the fuck?_ he thought, confused. He broadcasted to Severus, _Where are you? Why didn't anyone wake me up?  
_  
_We're at the spring, and I did wake you up. You must have gone back to sleep. We've only been here about fifteen minutes, so get here when you're ready.  
_  
Grumbling, Draco walked to the bathroom. Five minutes later, he Apparated straight to the spring in dark blue swim trunks, carrying a towel.  
  
  
  
Harry and Isis stared at Draco as he Apparated into the spring. _Oh great, shield time,_ Harry thought miserably, cutting himself off from everyone in the spring. Draco already had impenetrable shields in place.  
  
Severus stared at the two of them in shock. "Since neither of you can hear me telepathically, might I ask OUT LOUD what the FUCK you are doing???" he snapped, staring angrily back and forth at his two charges.  
  
Harry squirmed under the conjoined stares of everyone around him. "I don't want to talk about it," he mumbled.  
  
"Likewise," Draco mumbled after him.  
  
"Well, you're gonna! I'm tired of having to do all the work because you two won't talk to each other! You're gonna-" Ginny broke off her tirade and whipped around, staring at the edge of the shields. Everyone stared with her.  
  
A man, shrouded in black, stood there, watching them impassively. His eyes, the only feature you could discern, swirled a kaleidoscope of colors. Everyone stared at him, flabbergasted.  
  
"Who- who are you?" Harry finally asked.  
  
The man bowed. "Adrian."  
  
Everyone stared at him, stunned into silence. Ginny rose from the water. "What do you want?" she asked dazedly. Harry and Draco stared at each other, worry evident. As one, they lowered their impenetrable shields, simultaneously reaching for their sister.  
  
_ Ginny? Come back here, love,_ they called as one, aware of their minds seeking to join together. Angrily, Harry ripped his mind from Draco's. _Never again,_ he spat.  
  
_Why? Am I that repulsive?_ Draco asked.  
  
_ Shut up and focus on Ginny!_ Harry shot back, redoubling his efforts to get his sister to listen to them. Ginny stopped walking, shaking her head.  
  
"What do you want?" she asked again, this time stronger.  
  
Adrian shook his head, as if shaking away a dazed feeling. "I came for Severus."  
  
Severus shot out of the water. "WHAT??" he yelled, coming to stop next to his niece.  
  
"You're our Champion, Severus. Why did you leave? Come home. Come home with me."  
  
Severus stared at him and started to laugh. "Whatever, that was a good one. Why would I come 'home' as you so eloquently put it? You are trying to destroy the magic on this planet!"  
  
Adrian stared at him. "Because Clautius created you. You're our Champion."  
  
"No I'm not, and I have the same bloodline as Harry. I'm a creation of Alanna and Xander, not Clautius." Severus talked as if he were explaining things to a three year old.  
  
Adrian's face colored in rage. "Your mere existence was due to his involvement, puny mortal. Now come home!"  
  
"I don't care, and I'm not some 'puny mortal' you can order around. I am a demigod in my own right, the same as Lily, James, Harry and Draco. We are just as powerful as you, and you can't make me do anything. So leave us be. You are not welcome here." Severus turned his back and walked towards the spring.  
  
Adrian and Ginny locked eyes once again. She took a hesitant step forward, and another and another. He did the same until they were flush against the shield. She put her hands to the shield, he doing the same. They stood that way for almost a minute, their unblinking eyes both swirling a multitude of colors.  
  
Harry and Draco stared at each other and bounded out of the water. _GINNY!_ they yelled, coming to stand behind her. _Ginny, come on. Let's get out of here. Please, Gin? You're scaring us_. Reluctantly, Ginny pulled her eyes from Adrian.  
  
She let Harry and Draco lead her away, back to the spring. Isis curled around Harry's shoulders. "Get the young one away, she hissed to her master. I do not like the ssssssmell of that one."  
  
"I agree, Issssssissssss, I agree." Harry, Draco, and Ginny Apparated back to the safety of Hogwarts.  
  
_Harry, Draco, why did you pull me away? _Ginny asked, a faraway look in her eyes.  
  
_That was Adrian, you know? The bad guy working for Clautius? The really evil bastard! You weren't safe there! _they exclaimed in unison.  
  
_ But he felt so right..._ Ginny trailed off, turning to face her brothers. _How could someone so evil feel so right?  
_  
_What do you mean?_ they asked her.  
  
_You know how your minds just mesh and you feel so right together? Like that. He feels right. _Ginny stared at them, still dazed.  
  
_Oh shit. She's his soul mate?????_ Harry asked Draco. Draco stared at him and promptly passed out.  
  
  
  
A/N: Yes, I know, you can say it. I AM EVIL!!!!!!!(insert corny evil laugh) So, my unsuspecting minions, u like????  
  
Sorry about the cliffie but, I ran out of room. (21 pages!!!) All those damnable song lyrics that, if deleted, would make the story flow less smoothly.... And I needed a good place to end that would keep your interest. So, see ya next chapter.  
  
B/N: Oooooooooh, sometimes she makes me so mad! Yup, so sorry for the cliffy, and, fortunately, I know what will happen next, so there(sticks out tongue at all the disappointed readers)! Mwahahahaha! Maybe Laura can't do the evil laugh but I have perfected it... at least in typing... but who's paying attention to that? So I hoped you all liked that amazing example of what happens when writers block goes away. It's like trying to dam up the Nile River!  
  
Anywho, lots of love and cookies(with the added buffet table on the side) for everyone! Tune in next time, for the next exciting chapter in this amazing fanfic: Of (hot hot hot hot hot) Gods and (hot hot hot hot hot)Men! Toodles! 


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Well, I'm on spring break so I'm getting these out as many and fast as possible. So, enjoy.  
  
  
  
Chapter 20  
  
Harry turned and caught Draco against his chest. Silver eyes locked with his as a tongue slowly traced a pathway down his chest... Harry shook his head, banishing the image. _GOD DAMN IT!!!! STOP THINKING, BRAIN!!!! _He ordered himself sternly. He turned and laid Draco gently down on the floor. _I'm not thinking about running my hands through his hair, I'm not thinking about kissing him, I'm not- Who the fuck am I kidding?  
_  
Isis snickered softly. "Massssster, go for it. He isssss yoursssss, after all. Jusssssst do it already." She slithered off, presumably back to the Dungeons and her cage.  
  
"No!!!!!" Harry shouted, backing away from his soul mate. "I WON'T!!!!"  
  
Ginny stared at them, concerned. "Harry, why are you shutting him out?" she asked quietly, unable to keep the worry from her voice.  
  
"It's complicated, Gin, and I don't want to get into it right now. NOW, onto your problem. You do realize that Adrian's the son of Satan, right? He's the most powerful demon in existence. How in HELL can he be your soul mate?" Harry asked bluntly.  
  
Ginny gaped at him. "He's my WHAT???"  
  
An echoed sentiment had them whipping around. Alanna stood in the doorway to the Great Hall. "He's what?" she asked again weakly, sinking to a sitting position. "No... that's not possible." She turned shell shocked eyes to them, staring at Ginny. "How- why?"  
  
"I- I don't know, Alanna. He just feels so right to me. It's hard to explain. I-" Ginny broke off, eyes wide and frightened. Alanna stood and wrapped her arms around the shaking girl.  
  
"Did it feel like this?" she asked Ginny, opening her mind. Ginny and Alanna stood there for almost a minute, a soft golden glow around them. On the floor, Draco slowly started waking up.  
  
"Excuse me- OOF! Malfoys do NOT sleep on the floor! This is SO undignified!" Harry turned around, eyes on permanent spin cycle from the amount of eye rolling he was doing.  
  
Draco was sitting up, holding his head. "Did you REALLY say she's soul mates to the Spawn of Satan?" He asked Harry weakly.  
  
Harry nodded, sighing. "Yep."  
  
Draco blinked and stood up, dusting himself off. "Figures. Why the hell can't one day go by that's normal?"  
  
Harry let out a short bark of laughter. "What're you talking about? This IS normal."  
  
Draco cocked an eyebrow. "You scare me sometimes."  
  
Harry was about to fire a retort when Alanna and Ginny separated. Ginny swayed, and Harry darted forward, catching her before she fell. Draco was at his side in an instant, catching Alanna as their older sister stumbled and collapsed.  
  
"Oh great," Draco snapped, scooping her up and lifting her. Beside him, Harry had Ginny cradled protectively in his arms. "What the hell happened?"  
  
"Oh, I don't know. You did the same about two minutes ago, so shut up." Harry transfigured a bench into a couch and laid Ginny on it. Draco did the same, sputtering.  
  
"What- What? I NEVER fainted. Malfoys NEVER FAINT!" Draco glared at him.  
  
"Stuff it, Malfoy. We have to figure out what's going on!" Harry said, exasperated.  
  
Alanna and Ginny chose that moment to wake up. "Ohh, I have such a headache," moaned Alanna, clutching her head.  
  
"Stop speaking, it hurts," moaned Ginny in reply.  
  
_Gin-_  
  
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!" screamed Ginny in agony, grabbing her temples.  
  
"Our powers back lashed a bit when we joined. She's so strong mentally we couldn't handle it. Our minds are a bit fragile right now." Alanna winced and sat up. "It's amazing the sheer power she holds inside of her. She shouldn't be able to exist physically, but her magic holds her together. So, anyway, she is soul mates with Adrian. It's strange. They are both so powerful that they might burn each other out. Clautius didn't give his creations the ability to handle power very well, I'm afraid. He never wanted any of them to even attempt to become more powerful than he."  
  
Harry raised an eyebrow. "And..." he trailed off, waving his hand for her to continue.  
  
"Alanna thinks that if we do get together it could kill us both, but now that I know he exists, I'll go insane anyway trying to get to him. So, it's screwed both ways. Either way, you'll have two extremely insane, extremely powerful beings running amok. Lovely, isn't it?" Ginny grinned sarcastically.  
  
Harry enveloped her in his arms. "Oh, God, Gin, I'm so sorry. Can we do anything?" He asked Alanna.  
  
"That bonding ceremony is a good idea, actually. It might ground her enough to survive this." Alanna stood up, swaying slightly. Draco caught her elbow.  
  
"Does the first week of winter hols work?" he asked her, steadying her.  
  
"That should be fine. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to contact Mother about this. I need answers and I hate it when she keeps me in the dark about things." Alanna strode off, a white glow enveloping her.  
  
Lily, James, Severus, Neville, Luna, Blaise Seamus, Emily and Eric Apparated into the Great Hall. Severus looked decidedly queasy. "I must ask Alanna and Xander about this," he muttered, sweeping past Harry, Ginny and Draco. "ALANNA!!!! XANDER!!!!!!" He walked off in the direction Alanna had gone.  
  
Harry turned to his parents. "Mum, Dad, what's with Uncle Sev?" he asked, staring after his distracted uncle.  
  
"He had to figure out if that bastard was telling the truth or not," Lily explained.  
  
Ginny stomped her foot. "He isn't a bastard! Take it back!"  
  
James's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. "What the hell is going on? What did we miss?"  
  
"Only that that bastard, as you so kindly put it, is my SOUL MATE!" Ginny half yelled, bursting into tears. "What am I going to tell my parents? Hi Mum, Dad, this is my soul mate, the Spawn of Satan. Oh, don't worry about it, he only roasts the really bad people," she sobbed into Harry's shoulder.  
  
Harry rubbed her back. "If they love you, they'll understand. Besides, you're not evil, so maybe he isn't." He was treated with ten icy stares. "Ok!" he held up his hands in surrender. "Maybe he's an evil git."  
  
Ginny sniffed. Draco glared at him and pulled Ginny into his arms. "Harry, you aren't helping."  
  
"Fine!" Harry stomped off, fuming. _Stupid Draco, God damn asshole! I'm trying! _He failed to realize that everyone, Draco included, had heard him as he Apparated to the Quidditch Pitch and summoned his broom, venting his frustration in the air.  
  
"What did I do to deserve this?" Draco asked quietly, holding back tears.  
  
Lily and James gave each other 'the look' over everyone else's heads that spoke volumes. _Love, are you thinking what I'm thinking?_ James asked her privately.  
  
_That our son is soul mates with one of the densest people on the planet? Not at all, James, not at all,_ Lily responded sarcastically. James laughed.  
  
  
  
_ I'm beginning to hate Quidditch,_ thought Harry morosely after practice Wednesday afternoon. Madam Hooch had screamed at them for over an hour before pulling the three of them from the practice, sending them out to 'deal with their petty differences'. Of course that had been a flop. Draco still is clueless, Harry thought bitterly, and Ginny is no better. Only because you won't tell them, the little voice in his head reminded him.  
  
Harry studiously ignored the damn voice, which was starting to remind him of Hermione. _You should tell them. They do care about you, and they only want you to be happy_- _SHUT UP!!!! If Draco cared, he'd never have kissed that whore!!! _The voice fell silent. _Maybe, you're right, it admitted after a while. I can't see how, if he cared, that he would kiss and date someone else when he is supposed to be with you.  
_  
The voice agreeing with him made Harry feel even worse. _Oh shut it already, would ya? I'm depressed enough as it is. You aren't helping._ Angrily, he pulled his jeans and a black tee shirt on, sitting on a bench in the locker room. He Apparated to the Shrieking Shack, where he was sure he wouldn't be bothered.  
  
  
  
Severus paced in his quarters, alone. He had just had another vision, a bad one. They were becoming even more frequent, even occurring while he was awake.  
  
_ Good God, I need to get her out of there! Those demons- I- AAARGH!!!_ Severus wearily felt like banging his head into a wall.  
  
_ That damn potion isn't coming along at all. I can't figure it out, and it has all of us stumped. Even Sal can't figure it out, although she did vaguely recall writing a potion based on mental abilities once. If I could only find SOMETHING to help me.  
_  
Severus grasped his desk as waves of dizziness flooded him. _Oh no.... not again_, he moaned, bracing himself for another foray into his soul mate's body. _This is gonna be bad.  
_  
  
  
Draco wandered the halls, thinking. Ever since that Saturday, he had been incredibly depressed, and he knew it wasn't him that was feeling bad. _Harry's unconsciously bleeding his emotions into my mind. I have to do something to help him, but what? _He walked through a hallway on the fourth floor, glancing at the paintings as he passed them.  
  
_Hey, that one's weird. I wonder what it's of?_ Draco thought as he passed a large painting of what looked to be a large, dimly lit hallway. Intrigued, he stepped closer to study it. As if possessed, he pressed his hand against the canvas, only to stumble thought what felt like a veil and into the Hall. He felt something pressing on his mind and, after a moment's internal deliberation, he let whatever it was in. He felt a cool consciousness appraise him, allowing him access. _Access to what?_ he wondered.  
  
He stared around at his surroundings, shocked. Four doorways, each in a particular House color, branched from the dim, gray stone corridor. Picking a doorway at random, he walked through the door decorated Silver and green. He stopped in shock as he found himself in the living quarters of Salazar Slytherin himself. _Well, figures,_ he thought to himself. _Who else liked Silver and Green as much as he did?  
_  
He cautiously entered the living room completely, admiring the beautiful antique leather couches and mahogany tables. He sat on one of the couches and leaned back, wrapping himself in a deep emerald throw. _Just like Harry's eyes_, he mused, his mind wandering. He put his feet on the table, relaxing, and accidentally kicked something. He sat upright and looked at the table. There, in the center, next to his foot, was a black and silver leather bound journal, the title being POTIONS in the center of the cover.  
  
Intrigued, Draco opened it and flipped through the pages, skimming the entries. About half way through, he stopped and reread the page he had just turned. His eyes widened comically. "That's IT!!!!! I've got it!!!! Oh, wow, Sev's gonna be astounded!!! Wait till I tell him!" He clutched the book to his chest and sprinted from the room and skidded out of the Hall and back into the school. He Apparated straight into Severus's quarters, still cradling the book as if it were worth its weight in gold.  
  
"UNCLE SEVERUS!!!!!!" he yelled excitedly, skidding into Severus's bedroom. He stopped short, staring at his Godfather, who was collapsed against his desk, moaning and thrashing, his eyes clenched shut and tears streaming down his ashen cheeks. "Sev?" he asked, whipping around. H_ARRY!!!! GINNY!!!!! LILY!!!!! HELP, SEV'S IN ANOTHER VISION!!!!!!_ he screamed, grasping Severus's shoulder. He gasped, being pulled into the vision.  
  
Severus lay there, panting, trying to escape from the semicircle of enormous demons standing over him. He burrowed back into the wall, desperation clouding his mind. Already he had exhausted his powers destroying over half of the demons, but it was still not enough. The closest one, an enormous club wielding tank, reached out, grabbing the manacle around his neck, and dragged him upright, his legs kicking uselessly almost a foot in the air.  
  
Another demon, thin and sinewy, but still over twelve feet tall, reached out, pulling his hair so that his head was overextended backwards, exposing his neck in an expression of submission. Severus howled and fought his captors, to no avail, when, "SEV??" shot through his mind.  
  
_Draco, you have to get out of here! They're- OH HELL, I won't let you see this! GO! NOW! _Severus gasped, barely on the brink of sanity. With the last ounce of control he had, he attempted to shove Draco from the vision, but Draco held fast.  
  
_Nope, so sorry, but I'm staying, _Draco announced grimly.  
  
_ Us, too._ Harry, Ginny and Lily made their presence known. As one, they fed their magic through Severus's mind to Laurel's body. Laurel's body erupted in an incandescent light, sparks flying all over the room. The demons jumped back, then crept cautiously forward, staring at the female body in front of them with trepidation.  
  
"Id uruk HELLAT?" (What the HELL?) The tankish one asked. The others shrugged.  
  
"Grup ivish tru-olop."( Poke it and see what happens.) The sinewy one suggested. A third cautiously stuck his clawed finger out and poked Laurel's body tentatively. Nothing happened. Emboldened by that, they once again surrounded Laurel's body.  
  
_NOW!_ Draco screamed. As one, they shot their conjoined powers from Laurel, simultaneously healing her multiple injuries, Severus's exhaustion, and exploding all eight demons at once.  
  
Severus could feel a consciousness slowly swimming to the surface of Laurel's mind. He embraced it, finally feeling as if he were home. _Laurel,_ he sent tentatively._ Laurel, is that you?  
_  
_Who- Severus? Is that really you?_ came the sweetest mental voice he had ever felt. Home, was the only thought running through his mind. He could feel the others forming a mental wall, giving him privacy. Silently, he thanked them, then focused solely on his soul mate.  
  
_Yes, love, I'm here, and we're trying to get you out of here. I promise, Laurel, we are going to come after you.  
  
You can't. He's after Alanna and I'm the bait for his trap! You have to tell her-  
  
We know and we've taken care of it,_ he reassured her, trying to calm her down.  
  
_And Sirius! You have to help him too! He's the only one who had kept me sane! We can't leave him!_ she thought frantically.  
  
_ Don't worry, Sirius Black will be rescued as well. In fact, his soul mate has been most vocal. 'Don't for get about SIRI!!!'_ Severus smirked mentally.  
  
_Well, Severus Snape, you better not, or you're sleeping on the couch!_ Laurel giggled, warming Severus's heart.  
  
_That cinches it. Sirius will be rescued._ Severus grinned, feeling as if he were wrapped in a blanket of love, warmth and security.  
  
_ Sev, you have to get out of here. Clautius is coming back and-_ She broke off as the door opened and a familiar black haired head poked in.  
  
"Laurel?" Came Sirius's voice. He slunk into the room, sticking to the shadows. "Are you- HOLY SHIT! Did you do that?" He stared in awe at the multiple body parts, internal organs, and completely unrecognizable bits and pieces strewn around the expanse of the room.  
  
"Actually, Black, we're all here. Harry, Draco, Lily, Ginny, Laurel and Severus." Laurel remarked dryly.  
  
Sirius gave a whoop and rushed forward, wrapping the smaller woman in his arms. "You're awake!" He searched her eyes, a little disconcerted by the glow pulsating around her body. "You're all in there? Who am I talking to, then?"  
  
"Whoever you want! We all can hear you just fine," remarked Severus. Sirius jumped to hear the smooth, velvety voice of the Potions Master come from Laurel's mouth.  
  
"SIRI!!!" yelled Harry, using Laurel's arms to hug him. Laurel chuckled.  
  
_ And you are..._ She thought in amusement. Sure, use my arms without introducing yourself first.  
  
_Oops, sorry. My name is Harry and Sirius is my Godfather and I'm just a little excited. We thought he was dead until Severus saw him that one time.  
_  
"Harry? This is incredible! When are you coming to get us out of here? It's insane! Adrian is back, screaming at his father about how he has a soul mate and she's a fucking good guy and how unfair it all is. He wants to kidnap her or something but she's behind these wards and he can't get to her."  
  
Ginny blushed mentally, waves of embarrassment coming off of her. "Um, that would be me, Ginny. We kind of found that out earlier today."  
  
"You poor kid, saddled with a monster like that. Did you know that he has his own personal sex slave chained to his wall just like his father?" Severus reached out and smacked him upside the head.  
  
"You Dumbass, Black! Stop scaring her! She's only fifteen, for God's sake!" Sirius blushed and grinned sheepishly.  
  
"I really put my foot in it, didn't I? Well, she does have to know what she's getting into. He's not Clautius's favorite child for nothing."  
  
"And Alanna can tell her the G rated version when we get back," Severus interjected smoothly, trying to sooth his niece. Ginny couldn't be consoled and fled the connection.  
  
Oh, Uncle Sev, I found it!!!! I found the Potion! Severus's mental head shot up, and he focused on Draco.  
  
_What did you find?_ he asked cautiously, not even daring to believe.  
  
_The mind potion! It's in a book I found in a really old part of the castle! It belonged to Salazar Slytherin!_ Draco exclaimed, almost bursting with excitement.  
  
Severus let out an undignified whoop of joy, mentally embracing his Godson. _Well, read it!!!  
_  
Draco brought himself half in and half out of the connection, enough for him to see the book in front of him. Next to him, Ginny sat there, sobbing, her heart shattered. Harry saw, through his eyes, that she was crying and broke the connection. Draco watched as Harry picked Ginny up and Apparated from the room. Draco turned back to the Potions book, reading the ingredients. _Ok, let's see. Start with a cauldron of water drawn from a clear running spring, free of any impurities...  
_  
  
  
Harry and Ginny appeared in the Chamber of Secrets, Harry cradling Ginny to his chest possessively. He carried her to a couch and gingerly sat down, letting her cry herself out. _It's all right, sis. I promise, no matter what, you'll have me. I promise._ Ginny sniffed, burying her face into his shoulder. They sat like that for almost half an hour, the silence only broken by the occasional strangled sob.  
  
After Ginny had finally cried herself into silence, Harry just sat there, holding her. "Gin, I swear it'll be all right."  
  
"But how? He's evil, completely evil! I can't live with that! All he's going to do is hurt me!" Ginny exclaimed, turning to look Harry square in the eye.  
  
"I don't think so, Gin. I don't think he CAN hurt you. Soul mates can't really hurt each other. It's like hurting yourself, only worse." Harry sat back, thinking over what he had just said. That is such bull, and you know, it Potter. Draco thinks nothing of hurting you, he reminded himself sternly.  
  
"Harry, what is going on between you and Draco? I love you both so much, I can't stand to see you unhappy. Please tell me!" Ginny turned impossibly huge eyes up at him, an angelic pleading expression on her face.  
  
Harry laughed, rolling his eyes. "All right, I'll tell you. You remember the party?" Ginny nodded solemnly. "Well, we did some stuff and we both were under the influence of mind altering substances, and the next morning I remembered everything."  
  
"Are you all right? Are you traumatized? I KNEW it was a bad idea for you to get so stoned!" Ginny exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck.  
  
Harry gently untangled her arms. "No, Gin, that's not it at all. I was FINE with what happened. In fact, I wouldn't have minded a repeat performance when we both were sober...like that'll happen any time soon," he muttered.  
  
Ginny gasped. "You mean-"  
  
Harry nodded. "I felt perfectly safe and I didn't have any flashbacks at all. Look, I love Draco, I really do, and I did trust him not to hurt me. I spent the whole day after the party thinking about what to do and how to tell him that I was all right with the furthering of our relationship, because he locked me out of his mind for some reason. I found out why when I went to find him. He was KISSING a Ravenclaw. Gin, he didn't feel anything and he even told me it meant nothing. I just can't stand to feel his mind, knowing I want more but unable to have it." Harry sat back, a huge weight off his chest.  
  
Ginny was glaring, her face a storm cloud. "So that's why he's been sneaking out at night. The bastard! I'm gonna hit him so hard..." She stood up.  
  
Harry caught her arm. "Gin, please, don't. I'm not going to force it. If he feels something, great. If not, as he has stated, then I don't want to force him to try to feel something that's not there. That would hurt worse."  
  
Ginny sat back down, tears trickling down her face. "And I thought I had it bad. Harry, how could your soul mate hurt you? You just said it hurts you just as badly."  
  
"It does, Gin. It hurts so bad I almost can't stand it. He's right there and I can only watch. This sucks!" Harry slammed his hand onto the armrest angrily.  
  
"Well, what are we going to do about it?" Gin asked.  
  
"There's nothing to do, Gin. He doesn't see me that way. Maybe he never will. All I know is that no straight guy describes their first kiss as 'wet', and I've never been as attracted to someone as I am to him. All I can do is wait and hope." Harry sighed. I hate my life.  
  
  
  
Monday, in Spellwriting, Draco ignored Harry completely, choosing instead of doing any work to sit there, lost in thought. Big surprise there, Harry thought sarcastically, as he perfected his shield against the Unforgivables, Avada Kedavra in particular.  
  
He picked up his research and walked over to their teacher, Professor Sinistera. "Professor, I think I have it, but it needs a Potion in order to work."  
  
Sinistera looked over his research approvingly. "Excellent work, Mr. Potter. I expect you to devise a suitable potion in order to make this work. Perhaps Professor Snape would help you with that." Harry nodded and walked back to his seat, already devising another project. _Maybe I can find a spell that'll remove the Dark Mark while I'm at it. I'll ask Alanna what she felt when she removed Uncle Sev's. She can help me._ He sat down, already lost in his thoughts.  
  
He never noticed Draco slide his research over and read through it, eyes widening as he went point by point down the page. _Oh my God, Harry. You're a genius!_ Draco thought enviously as he stared at the different incantations Harry had tried and combined to create the strongest shield he'd ever seen, in theory. But to have the power to hold it- oh wait, he's got a space where a POTION is needed. _Brilliant! I never would have thought of Basilisk's blood!  
_  
Harry abruptly stood. "Professor, can I be excused early? I'd like to get started on the potion as soon as possible."  
  
"Of course."  
  
Draco hastily dropped the notes and went back to staring at the wall, an oblivious expression on his face. Harry gathered his notes distractedly and walked out.  
  
Harry walked out of the classroom and Apparated straight to the Dungeons, right outside the classroom. He checked the time. _Oh great. I have an hour before Sev's done with his class. Oh well, I don't think he'd mind if I sat in the back. _Harry poked his head into the classroom.  
  
Severus was teaching a group of unruly fourth years. "Mr. Patil, that is not the way to mix a Potion! Honestly, boy," he grabbed the boy's wrist, reversing his mixing direction. "Clockwise, not counterclockwise, unless you wish to brew a deadly poison!"  
  
Harry smirked. "Um, Professor?" He asked politely.  
  
Severus looked up. "Yes, Mr. Potter? I am extremely busy here," he snapped irritably.  
  
Harry recoiled slightly, visibly stung. "I was going to ask if I could simply sit in the back and do some research for a potion I have to come up with."  
  
Severus waved a hand impatiently. "You cannot use the library?"  
  
"I could, but the library doesn't have the resources I need, such as some books you have."  
  
"Use my quarters then. Don't bother me here. MR. PATIL I SAID CLOCKWISE!!!!!!" he bellowed, causing the young man to jump, splashing a little of the potion on his robes. A yellowish smoke billowed from his robes as the potion, a corrosive, ate a large hole in his sleeve.  
  
Harry quickly stripped him, banishing the robe and conjuring another. "Un- Professor, I got it. I'll help him and get him to the Hospital wing."  
  
Severus looked up from the rapidly melting cauldron. "A little help here!" Harry shooed the frightened and fascinated students to the other side of the classroom, then turned back.  
  
"Banish it?" he suggested, coming up behind his uncle.  
  
"You do realize this is your fault, don't you? If I hadn't had to divert my attention like that I could have prevented this," Severus snapped.  
  
Harry scowled, stung. "Well excuse me for living. What bee crawled up you ass?" he asked in an undertone.  
  
"You do realize I'm about to dock your house two hundred points for that remark," Severus wiped a hand across his brow.  
  
"If it makes you feel better, go right ahead. Seriously, what's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing." Harry seriously doubted that, but kept quiet. They banished the cauldron, carefully banishing every trace of the corrosive. "Aw, and I would have liked a sample of that," Harry complained good naturedly.  
  
Severus snorted. "Why?"  
  
"Would have been interesting to play with. Might I ask what potion it was supposed to be?"  
  
Severus shook his head. "Calming draught."  
  
"How the hell did he get that?" Harry wondered out loud, walking back over to Mr. Patil. The young Hufflepuff stared at him fearfully.  
  
"Hey, what did you do to get that really cool corrosive?" Harry asked conversationally.  
  
"I DIDN'T MEAN TO!!!!" the fourth year wailed, rubbing his eyes with a slightly burned hand. Harry picked up his hand, studying it. With a sigh, he Apparated the both of them to the Hospital Wing. After informing Poppy about what had happened, he Apparated back to see class back in full swing.  
  
"So I can use your library, then Professor?" Harry asked, catching Severus's eye. Severus nodded distractedly.  
  
_Whatever._ Harry Apparated straight to Severus's quarters, missing the confused expression on Severus's face.  
  
  
  
Draco walked into Experimental Potions class and found his Godfather but no Harry. "Uncle Sev, where's Harry?" Draco asked casually.  
  
Severus looked up from the cauldron he was stirring. "In my quarters doing research. Considering the way you two have been treating each other, why do you care?"  
  
Draco sharply drew in a breath, trying to control the surge of anger he felt. "I care because, no matter what, I care about him. So, what's he doing there?"  
  
"He said something about research like I said. Why?" Severus studied his Godson.  
  
"Oh, no reason. Just that he's found a shield that works against the killing curse, that's all." Draco thoroughly enjoyed the shocked look on Severus's face.  
  
"What?" Severus asked, his mouth hanging open. Draco smirked. "The incantation is Protecte de Vitae and requires a strengthening potion so the person's magic is stronger than the curse. I read his notes. What are you doing?" Draco asked, wrinkling his nose at the cauldron.  
  
"It's the potion you found. I'm making it. I know it doesn't look like much, but according to the notes and Sal, it looks correct." Severus motioned to the dark green sludge in the cauldron.  
  
Draco raised his eyebrows. "If you say so."  
  
"So, are you going to help me or not?" Severus asked impatiently. Draco sighed and rolled up the sleeves of his robes.  
  
"Sure, why not?" Within seconds, they were working in unison, dicing and slicing the different ingredients.  
  
  
  
Harry curled up on the leather couch, engrossed in an ancient tome, occasionally taking down notes. He scribbled in his notebook, writing suggestions, thoughts and comments about what to use in the potion. Hmmm, unicorn hair for health, Dragon scales for their shielding properties, plus the Basilisk blood to increase strength, all in a spring water base with a couple of different ingredients to pull it all together. _Let's see, how will all this react? Well, no time like the present._ Harry stood up, tome in hand and notes in the other and Apparated straight to the Potions classroom.  
  
Severus looked up from the potion, taking in Harry's distracted air. Harry set up quickly, hell bent on testing his theories. He summoned the ingredients, ignoring Severus's incredulous look. _I do hope Potter knows what he's doing. Those are incredibly rare and expensive ingredients.  
_  
Harry set four cauldrons up, each simmering a different amount of ingredients. He quickly mixed the potions, taking notes on their color, viscosity, and temperature.  
  
An hour later, he was ready to test them. The first potion, a thick, purple gel, was force fed to a conjured mouse. Harry watched as it promptly grew four feet in length, grew muscles worthy of Mr. Universe, and its front incisors sharpened into lethal fangs. "Uncle Sev, HELP!!!!!!!" Harry hollered as the giant killer mouse chased him around the room. He crawled on a desk, staring at his creation in horror and abject fascination. _Right, put this in the 'only play with when suicidal' category'. Sheesh.  
_  
Severus stared at the enormous mouse, completely enthralled. "Harry, what did you mix?" he asked, watching as the mouse promptly chewed through a stone table leg trying to get to his nephew.  
  
"My notebook is on the other table. PLEASE GET IT AWAY FROM ME!!!!!" he yelled again as the mouse chewed through the other table leg. Too late. Harry slid down the incline, straight into the Doberman sized mouse. _Ulp! _he thought as the mouse promptly pounced on him and ....  
  
Nuzzled his chest???? Harry stared at the killer- yet extremely cuddly mouse that was trying to burrow through his clothes. Draco watched, slightly jealous, from his corner.  
  
_That should be me over there..._ he thought to himself, not noticing Ginny's raised eyebrow as she overheard the stray thought, filing away the information for later use.  
  
Severus stared at the potions Harry had prepared. "All right, this one is physical strength," he noted, bottling the purple gel. "That could come in handy, especially if we want physical intimidation. How about the others?" he asked, all business until he saw his nephew, on the floor, being snuggled to death by the enormous mouse. "Um, Harry?" he asked in confusion.  
  
"I haven't tested any others. Why?" Severus quickly conjured three more mice, gesturing for Harry to continue.  
  
"Fine!" Harry huffed, picking out the mouse with a grunt. Draco doubled over, laughing silently as his soul mate lugged the animal across the classroom and set him on the table next to the other experiments. He quickly grabbed an eyedropper and filled it with the next potion, pale green liquid. He fed it to the second mouse, which just twitched its nose and blinked. Harry wondered what that potion did when the overwhelming desire to find chips and seeds and all things crunchy overpowered him. He Apparated to the kitchens, and begged Dobby for some crackers and chips and anything to ease the cravings. He Apparated back, and the entire class spent the next five minutes eating and munching, trying to figure out what was going on.  
  
"It's a mental powers increasing potion. It makes your telepathy powers greater," Severus figured out after it wore off. He quickly bottled some, staring at it speculatively. "I wonder how much more powerful it would be if it were allowed to simmer for about twelve hours?"  
  
Harry shrugged. "Why don't you try it? It's still on the fire, so let some simmer." Severus levitated the entire cauldron into his back office.  
  
Harry grabbed the third potion and fed some to the third mouse. It immediately turned to stone. Harry stared at the mouse in consternation. "What the hell??" he asked stupidly.  
  
Severus stared at the potion. "That could be useful," he mused, conjuring another mouse. "Just to be sure," he put an eyedropper full onto the back of the newly conjured mouse. It fell over with a crash, petrified. "Interesting. Ingestion has the same effects as the direct stare of the Basilisk, while the skin contact has the same effect as an indirect stare." He bottled some of that, grinning.  
  
Harry just stared at the poor mice in consternation. Draco walked over to the table, studying the mice. "What's the fourth one?" he asked casually, staring at the enormous mouse. The mouse bared its fangs and licked its lips hungrily. Draco stepped back, apprehensive. "Harry, call off your mouse," he said worriedly.  
  
Lily stared at him, smirking. "Do you even realize how stupid that sounds?" she asked, laughing. Emily and Eric were doubled over, giggling hysterically.  
  
Harry glared at them and scratched the enormous mouse on the head, behind its ears. It squeaked happily, stretching. "It's all right, Angel. He's isn't going to hurt you. Relax."  
  
"Angel?" Draco asked.  
  
Harry smirked. "Why? Do you have a better name?"  
  
"How about Killer?" Harry laughed as he administered the last potion to the last mouse. A silvery glow surrounded the tiny animal.  
  
Harry stepped forward excitedly. "That's it! Protecte de Vitae!" the silver glow intensified, finally solidifying into an opaque barrier. "Now for the final test." Harry looked around sheepishly.  
  
"I really shouldn't do this in a classroom. Everyone stand back. I have no idea how this'll react." Everyone backed up. Severus carried the potion he was working on, the telepathic bonding potion, into his back office, where it had to sit and stew for one week. After that, it had to sit in an air tight container for another week before it could be used.  
  
"What are you going to do?" Severus asked.  
  
Harry stared at him. "Test it, of course." He turned to the mouse and braced himself, pointing a finger. "Avada Kedavra," he whispered, wincing. A sickly green light shot out of his finger, taking a part of him with it. It sped towards the silver shield. Harry held his breath, waiting. Everyone mimicked him, watching anxiously. The green light hit the shield and disappeared. Harry waited a second and removed the shield, hoping.  
  
He cheered as the mouse cautiously crawled around the table, sniffing for food. Harry fed it a cracker and bottled the potion. "Perfect," he grinned.  
  
  
  
Harry sat in the Shrieking Shack, his trusty pocket knife in his left hand. Hello, old friend. It's been a while, he thought almost fondly as he stared at the shiny silver blade. Wincing slightly, he drew the blade down his right wrist, feeling the sting as his blood began to flow freely. Oh, _I've missed this_, he thought happily, feeling some of the weight of the past two weeks lifted from his shoulders. _Why'd I ever stop?  
_  
Grinning, finally happy, he drew the blade down his left wrist, slashing across several times as well. He watched the blood flow, dripping down his fingers. He was unable to tear his eyes away from the red streams flowing down his arms. At long last, after almost ten minutes, he finally healed himself. He stood up, dizzy from the loss of blood, and Apparated back to the Slytherin Dorms.  
  
Draco noticed him Apparating into the room. "Where were you?" he asked unable to keep the fear from his voice.  
  
"What's it matter to you?" Harry asked dizzily, tumbling into bed. "It's not like I matter to you anyway." He immediately fell asleep.  
  
Draco lay awake almost the whole night, debating about what to do.  
  
  
  
Harry and the rest of the Quidditch team assembled on the Quidditch Pitch, ready to Apparate to Magica Universidad de Roma. Madam Hooch joined them, anxious to be off. "Ready everyone?" she asked. Harry and the others nodded. Harry, Nicholai, Damien, Ginny and Draco tied their magic together, creating an Apparation field. With Madam Hooch to guide where they were going, they Apparated to the school in Rome.  
  
Harry looked around, intrigued by the similarities between all the schools. _It would really be cool to go to school in Italy or China. That would be really sweet.  
_  
_ But if you went to school somewhere else, then what would happen to me?_ Ginny asked half jokingly.  
  
Harry wrapped his arm around her. _Don't worry, Gin. I'm not going anywhere. And if I did, you fit in most overhead compartments, so I'd take you with me!  
_  
Draco listened in on their conversation trying to equate the seemingly happy boy in front of him with the angry, depressed feelings radiating off of him, especially at night, especially the nights he came in really late.  
  
They arrived at the locker rooms and sat on the benches. Harry stood in the center of the room. "Ok, team, ready for this game?" he asked quietly. A resounding chorus of "HELL YES!" had him grinning.  
  
He pushed a hand through his hair distractedly, and Draco saw something he had never wanted to see again for as long as he lived: new slash marks on Harry's wrists. Draco felt his heart plummet into his stomach as he stared at Harry's forearms, wondering just how many more there were hidden under the robes. He angrily brushed a hand over his eyes, hoping that no one would notice just how close to tears he was. _Damn it, Harry, I love you more than life itself. Why the fuck do you have to feel you are worth so little?  
_  
Harry turned to him. "Ready, Draco?" he asked teasingly.  
  
_Oh, so it's the Golden Boy mask. Well, two can play at this game, Harry._ Draco dropped a mask of indifference over his chiseled features. "As ready as I'll ever be," he drawled, becoming the Slytherin Prince for the first time since the summer.  
  
Harry's eyes widened fractionally and he nodded approvingly. "Good, let's strengthen the links, then. Shall we?"  
  
Draco felt a moment of panic that he squished like a bug. _Harry, I've made up my mind. I am going to tell you the truth, reaction be damned. Just not yet. I can't handle it yet, or your rejection. I'm just tired of hiding. _With that thought, he steeled his mind, increasing his personal shields, then cautiously linked his mind to everyone else's.  
  
The announcer started up his spiel about the two teams. Harry slipped his translator into his ear, the rest of the team doing the same. They shot out of the locker room onto the field, ready for anything.  
  
Harry passed his mother, Uncle Sev, and Alanna in the stands. They waved, and Harry waved back. This time, his mother didn't look like she was about to throw up, which was a blessing in and of itself.  
  
"HEY HARRY!!!!" yelled Olivia and Gaila. "WE'VE GOT A SONG FOR YOU!!! CHING CHING CHONG, SMOKE FROM A BONG! PUT SOME POT AND SMOKE RIGHT ALONG!!! A HUFF AND A PUFF AND BLOW THE HOUSE DOWN-" they collapsed in a fit of giggles. Harry almost fell off his broom.  
  
"When the hell did they come up with that and what are they smoking?" Draco asked incredulously. Harry shook his hand and landed on the field, Draco beside him.  
  
Harry quickly shook hands with the other captain, Draco doing the same, and the game began. Harry and Draco quickly put aside their differences to play. They scored four goals in rapid succession, and Ginny scored the next two. They were up by one hundred and twenty points after the first ten minutes. The Roman team sucked.  
  
Damien and Nicholai just slammed the Bludgers back and forth, playing keep- away from the other team. _i_ Nick sent to Dami.  
  
Emily sat in the Goals, filing her nails. _James, catch the Snitch already! This is boring! I could give myself a manicure down here and it wouldn't matter!  
_  
Everyone laughed as James spotted the Snitch and lazily caught it. The other Seeker was on the other side of the field, not even paying attention. He was too busy flirting with the girls in the stands.  
  
The Referee angrily blew his whistle. "GAME OVER, HOGWARTS WIN, 270 TO 0!!! THIS GAME SUCKED!!!!" He Apparated from the field.  
  
"It's not like we give a shit anyway," The Rome captain remarked to Harry as they prepared to Apparate back to Hogwarts. "We didn't even want to participate anyway. Good game."  
  
"Then why'd you even sign up for the League?" Harry asked curiously.  
  
"We didn't. Our Headmaster is a dick and is forcing us to at least appear to play. Oh well, see ya next time around."  
  
"Yeah, see ya around," Harry waved goodbye as they Apparated back to Hogwarts less than a half an hour from when they left. "That blew." Angrily, he stomped into the showers. "At least, in our house games, everyone at least made an effort to play. They didn't even attempt to stop the Quaffle!"  
  
Draco stood in the locker room, wracked with indecision. _Now or later?_ he asked himself over and over, not even noticing that Harry had long since left the shower and Apparated from the locker room, headed for wherever he had gone.  
  
Draco slowly walked into the shower, alone, and upset. _GOD DAMN INDECISION! I'm such an idiot and a coward. I can't even tell him that I care about him. I'm so scared he'll really try to die again and I won't be able to feel it happen. I can't lose him, not when he means everything to me!  
_  
  
  
Elsewhere, Harry again had his knife out, slicing open his wrists, forearms, upper arms, anywhere to draw blood and drain some of the pain and hurt he was feeling. He lolled back against the chair, feeling a rush from the loss of blood. He felt giddy as he stared, fascinated, at the scarlet ribbons dripping from his fingertips to the ground. _I wish I could just float away and never come back,_ he thought hazily as he healed himself yet again. _Then I wouldn't have to worry about anything at all. It would all be over and I could finally find peace instead of constant pain and anguish. God, I just want some peace. Why do you hate me? Why does anyone even care? I'm worthless, used goods. I can't do anything right. They're better off without me._ Harry rolled over and fell into an uneasy sleep, his demons once again destroying his ability to have a decent night's rest.  
  
  
  
A/N: So, not too bad of an ending, right? No horrible cliffie like last time yet enough to keep you all interested. Poor depressed Harry, sitting there all alone... it's so sad... Anyway, write back, or not, it's up to you. You all are probably staring at Harry wondering how the hell he's going to off himself with his parents there and all, but yeah. Suicidal people aren't too rational and he was already depressed. Take it from the expert on depression and suicidal tendencies, no one is rational at that stage and he doesn't have the one person who can balance him out and make him whole, so to speak. So, he's actually OOC, but everyone who's suicidal is pretty OOC. Enough explaining! Anyway, see ya next chapter!  
  
B/N: Not too shabby, not too shabby at all. In fact, I rather liked it. Hehehehe, I want a mousey, ooh, so cute! Oh Mickey what a pity, you don't understand – wait, nope, take it back, completely wrong song there.... Ugh! (shudder) I need a carrot... why, I am not sure, but hey, when the cravings hit, who am I to be stubborn? To Livvie, and The Gabster: I LOVE THAT THING! Call it a chant, or a song or inspiration while under the influence of some unknown drug – I dunno, but it rocks! Whatever you're smoking, can we get some? Tata! 


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: WOW. I typed the last one in a little over two days. Anyway, everybody, I guess I didn't make it clear enough in the last three or so chapters that Harry had told Draco on several occasions that he refused to take the relationship further, and were quite adamant about it, due to the horrible past. Draco is actually acting quite logically for that situation, which was actually based off of two of my friends' relationships, used with their permission, of course. The point is Draco thinks the way he does because he is going off of what Harry has told him. Harry has given absolutely no indication that he is all right with what happened. Therefore, Draco was right to assume the way he did because he had no other information.  
  
Chapter 21  
  
Draco woke up the morning after the Quidditch farce, customarily cursing his bedclothes. "DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!!!!!" he screamed, jabbing his finger at the sheets. Oops. A jet of fire shot from his finger, igniting everything. Draco rolled his eyes, putting out the blaze. "Great, just great. I really need this at-" he checked the time, "seven thirty in the morning." He rolled out of bed, and made his way to the bathroom for a much needed shower- cold shower.  
  
Twenty minutes later, he walked back out, ready to face whatever the day decided to dump on him. He strode back into his room, just wearing a towel. Eric was already up, stumbling towards the bathroom. Draco looked at Harry's bed suspiciously. "Harry? It's time to wake up!" he walked over to his bed and opened the curtains. Nothing. His bed was made, which never happened until the House Elves came through and cleaned. Which meant... Draco Apparated straight to his Godfather's quarters.  
  
"Uncle Sev!" Draco strode into his living room. Severus looked up from the book he was reading.  
  
"Yes, Draco? What is it?" Severus asked, putting down Salazar Slytherin's Potions notebook.  
  
"Harry never came in last night. His bed wasn't slept in and I haven't seen him since Quidditch yesterday," Draco reported.  
  
Severus nodded and they walked down the hallway. "Lily, James! Your son is missing!" Severus half yelled as they walked through the entrance to their quarters. Lily and James came rushing out of the bathroom, fully dressed.  
  
"What?" asked Lily anxiously. James echoed her sentiments.  
  
"He never came in last night. His bed was made this morning when I went to wake him up," Draco told them.  
  
Lily shook her head. "Have you tried calling him mentally?" she asked logically.  
  
Mutely, Draco and Severus shook their head. It hadn't even occurred to them. "Ummm, no," Draco offered lamely.  
  
"You guys are worked up over nothing." Lily concentrated on finding Harry's mental signature. *Harry, where are you?* she asked on a broadband mental wavelength.  
  
*I'm up, I'm up, don't shout,* came the bleary reply.  
  
*Where are you?* James asked casually, ready to Apparate.  
  
*I went down to the Chamber last night, just kicking back and listening to music and I guess I fell asleep. I'm really sorry.*  
  
*That's all right. In fact, we're coming down. See ya in a second.* Lily and James Apparated in midstep, Severus and Draco right behind them. They walked into the Chamber, immediately seeing Harry sprawled on a couch, his eyes still only half open.  
  
"Morning, everyone. What brings you down here?" he asked lazily, sitting up. Lily and James plopped down next to him and began tickling him mercilessly.  
  
"Ow- HAHAHAHAHA- come on- HEHEHEHEHEHE- I – HAHAHAHAHA!" He collapsed into a giggle fit, finally falling off the couch with a loud thump. "OW!" he complained, rubbing his head with his hand. "That hurt." He mock glared at his mom, who pretended to be stabbed through the heart and fell over.  
  
The little voice in Harry's head proceeded to nag him. See that? They came looking for you, even Draco. They all care. I don't know what game he's playing but he does care about you even if he doesn't show it. See what you'd miss if you did kill yourself like you wanted to do last night? Harry mentally stabbed the voice with a Q tip. *Shut it, brain! Just shut up!* The voice refused to be quieted. They care, they all do. Besides, your parents came back FOR YOU! They didn't have to but they wanted to be with you and you want to end it all. How selfish is that???  
  
Harry, to the amazement of everyone around him, stood abruptly. "I really need a shower. I'm going back to the Dorms now." He Apparated immediately.  
  
Lily stared at the spot where her son had stood. "Why was he stabbing his brain with a Q tip?" she asked, confused.  
  
Draco stared at her. "What's a Q tip?" he asked, completely lost.  
  
  
  
Harry strode from the bathroom, fully dressed. To his surprise, Draco and Ginny stood outside the door, waiting for him to finish. What was even more surprising was the fact that they were arguing.  
  
"I'm the Slytherin Sex God. Of course I'm not a virgin!" Draco protested, his face turning beet red.  
  
"Bull shit, Draco. You're as pure as I am." Harry closed his gaping mouth with a snap. Ginny looked over at him and winked. Draco still had no idea he was standing there, as he was angrily banging his head against the wall.  
  
"Where are you getting this load of shit?" Draco finally exploded. "I assure you I've had sex before. It's practically a requirement for the voting! You can't be the Sex God of Slytherin and not have had sex."  
  
*To videotape and put on the internet or not to videotape and put on the internet?* Harry mused, smirking as his soul mate turned an even more alarming shade of red as he tried to tell his sister he wasn't a virgin. *What is she playing at? We all know Draco lost his a long time ago, or so all the girls he's dated have said.*  
  
"I have proof you are still a blushing virgin, Draco. MILLIE!!!" Ginny yelled at the top of her lungs.  
  
Millicent strode over. "Yes, Ginny?" she asked, smirking.  
  
"What's the notebook say about his virginity status?" Ginny asked impatiently.  
  
Draco stared at them as if they'd lost their minds. "What notebook?" he asked suspiciously.  
  
Millicent smirked and held out her hand. A thick green notebook, spiral bound, appeared in her palm. She put her other hand on the cover, saying clearly, "Draco Malfoy."  
  
The notebook sprang open, flipping itself to a page in the center. "Let's see here," Millie mused out loud, scanning the page. "Yep, got it here. VIRGIN!"  
  
Draco snatched it from her hand. "Let me see that." He scanned the page, his face paling. "Where- where did you get this?" he asked, clutching the notebook to his chest.  
  
"Oh, it's something my family has done for the last hundred years or so. There is always a Bulstrode or one of our relations at Hogwarts and we keep records for the side of the Light. Everyone who has passed through Hogwarts gets a page. It has your deepest secrets, including who you dated, slept with, deepest fears, strange obsessions, etc."  
  
"Really," said Harry speculatively. He took the book form Draco's numb fingers. "There's a book for each house, am I correct?" Millicent nodded, grinning. "And all the Slytherins for the last hundred years or so are in here, correct?" Another nod. "Tom Marvolo Riddle!" Harry snapped, his hand on the cover.  
  
The book flipped open, finally stopping at a page near the front. Harry read the page eagerly, giggling like a madman. Draco and Ginny craned their necks, reading over his shoulder. He lifted a miniature stuffed rabbit hanging by a paperclip form the page.  
  
"Voldemort had a stuffed bunny, who now resides in this book, his name is Mr. Snuffles, and he cried for a month after it was stolen... THIS IS GREAT!!!!" Harry yelled excitedly. "Can I take the bunny? I think Tom would pay dearly to get it back."  
  
Millicent smirked. "Sure, why not? I think that would be a wonderful idea." Harry quickly pocketed the rabbit, ransom plans forming in his diabolical mind.  
  
"Hey, can I see what you have down for me?" Harry asked, intrigued. Millicent summoned the Gryffindor notebook and handed it to him.  
  
Harry looked up his own information, scanning the page when he found it. "Hey, this isn't true." He looked at Millie. "Vernon was a child molester- I can't be a virgin." Millie stared at him, shocked that he could be so candid about it.  
  
"Oh," she said, and grabbed the book. "Hmm, have to add that one in. Thanks, Harry. Hey, I didn't have to use Veritaserum and some strategic memory charms to get information from you!"  
  
Draco stared at her and started to laugh. "That's how you got all that dirt? That's incredible!"  
  
They walked down the Hall together, Millie telling them outrageous stories of how her mother, aunt, uncles, grandparents and other relatives had gotten information on other students.  
  
  
  
Draco sighed as he walked to the library, lost in thought. He jumped as an arm snaked around his waist, pulling him into an empty classroom. "Hello, Draco," a sultry female voice purred in his ear.  
  
He rolled his eyes. "Hey, Francesca," he murmured as she flung herself at him, kissing him wildly. He absently kissed her back, not really paying attention to what was going on. As her hands roamed his body, she suddenly, for him, grabbed somewhere that didn't really want to be grabbed by her. He stiffened and pulled her hands from his body, separating them. "Francesca," he growled warningly, his eyes narrowing into slits. "I said no, don't touch me there."  
  
Francesca pouted. "But why?" she asked, grinning in what she thought was a seductive manner. "We can have so much fun."  
  
Draco cocked an eyebrow. *God, I really must be gay. This is so lame it isn't even the least bit funny.* "Because, Francesca, I don't fuck and run."  
  
"Who said anything about running?" she purred, before launching herself at him again.  
  
Draco sidestepped neatly and she stumbled. "You know, my dear, this just isn't working out like I thought it would. You're just too pushy. I come onto people, not the other way around. Tell you what- I'll find you if I want some action, since that's all your interested in." Draco strode from the classroom, angrily wiping his lips with the back of his hand. "Stupid bitch! She's almost as bad as Pansy, the hag bitch from hell!"  
  
He walked back down the hall, and heard angry footsteps behind him. "Draco, you stupid bastard, wait!" resounded off the walls. He took off, almost running in his haste to get back to his Dorms.  
  
He Apparated straight to his room, flinging himself on his bed. *Well that went well,* he thought sarcastically. He changed into his swim trunks and Apparated straight to the Spring, ready for some serious relaxation.  
  
  
  
Harry sat in the Potions Lab, experimenting with his four different potions to intensify the strength. Severus sat at another table, experimenting with the effects of Harry's telepathy potion and the linking potion. "Uncle Sev? How exactly do you increase the strength of the potion?" Harry asked distractedly, stirring all seven cauldrons at once with magic.  
  
"How do you think?" Severus asked, in the middle of researching the properties and possible countereffects of the different potions ingredients being mixed.  
  
"Less water as a base or a longer simmer time so more water boils off, I know, but the Basilisk blood is lethal at too high a concentration, which is the basis for the stone potion. So, I have to let it concentrate but use something to counteract it. So, any ideas?"  
  
Severus slammed the book shut, having completely lost his concentration. * I need to get this done so I can help my soul mate and he's distracting me!* "Potter, would you please shut up? I have to research the ramifications of these two potions and you are not helping! Now leave me alone and go away!" He went back to reading, skimming over an ancient tome.  
  
Harry stormed out of the Potions lab, tossing his notebook at Severus on his way out. It hit him in the head, startling him, and he leapt up, swearing in fourteen different languages. He finally grabbed the notebook, scowling and muttering about stupid Gryffindors. He opened it up and found all of Harry's notes, immaculately catalogued and in incredibly neat handwriting, detailing every aspect he needed in order to base his comparisons. Severus shook his head, astounded at the clarity. *Damn it, now I have to find him and apologize for being an ass,* he groused to himself, caught up in the first shred of hope he had felt in a long time.  
  
He turned back to the notebook, anxiously scanning the almost anal retentive notes, making notes of his own, and creating parallels between the potions, completely forgetting that he had hurt Harry's feelings. He worked all through the afternoon and finally finished, aware of a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. *What am I forgetting?*  
  
  
  
Harry stormed into the Astronomy Tower, sitting on the window ledge. *What the hell was his problem? Why couldn't he help me? I didn't understand what I was doing and he's my teacher. Shouldn't he have helped me? Isn't that his job?* He sat there, swinging his legs over the edge out the Tower window. He looked down at the students below him. Not for the first time that day, a tear trickled down his cheek. *I know I'm not smart, but did he have to make me feel so stupid?* The pain and anger that never seemed to go away any more welled up inside of him until he felt as if he would burst. *I need an outlet for this. I can't take it any more. I'm so frigging stupid. I can't do anything right.*  
  
Harry sat there, motionless except for the tears, slowly trickling at first, and then faster and faster until a torrent rushed down his face, but still he didn't move or make a sound. *Why? Why God why? Why is everyone mad at me? Why do I feel so frigging alone all the time? I just want it to end.* He pulled out his pocket knife, staring at it.  
  
*** Lily stared Harry in the eye. *Promise me, Harry, that if you feel again like hurting yourself, that you'll come to me or Severus. You too, Draco. Promise me.*  
  
*I promise, Mum. Besides, I'm finally happy. Why would I want to hurt myself when I have almost everything I want?* ***  
  
"Mum. I want my Mum." Harry mumbled. "Mum, I promised." With that, he Apparated straight to his parents quarters.  
  
Lily and James were sitting on the couch, their auras flared. They didn't even notice as he Apparated into the room. Harry watched, intrigued as they extended their hands over Lily's gently rounded abdomen. The glow intensified, and their faces broke out into grins as a small, pale silver light shone.  
  
"Hello, little one. James, we have a mind elemental son," Lily said with pride.  
  
James beamed, kissing Lily full on the lips. "What should we name you, little one?" he asked, running a hand over her stomach.  
  
Harry remembered why he was there and stepped warily over to the couch. "Um Mum, Dad?" he asked hesitantly. "Can I talk to you?" he asked, trying to hold back tears. The thought of his problems had him perilously close to losing control.  
  
Lily frowned. "Harry, could we talk later? We're trying to get your new brother to tell us his name." They went back to talking to the newest Potter without even looking at their oldest son.  
  
Harry recoiled, his already depressed state of mind spiraling out of control. "You made me promise, Mum, and now you don't have time for me," he whispered almost inaudibly. They didn't hear him, engrossed in their newest child.  
  
Harry Apparated straight back to the Astronomy Tower, fully planning on throwing himself off. *They don't care. They don't care. They don't care. They don't care,* repeated over and over in his mind.  
  
He ran straight at the window, leaping through it. Downward he sped, staring at the rapidly approaching ground, his doom. All of a sudden, he stopped, hanging in midair, surrounded by a forest green glow. "FUCK!!!!" he screamed, furious. He flipped over, landing on his feet, and angrily kicked the side of the building. Pain lanced through his foot, and he hopped around, swearing vividly.  
  
Several first years saw him and turned around right away, running back inside. He glared at them, swearing in Parseltongue at their – and his- idiocy. He looked up at the window eight stories above him. He reached inside of himself and shot back up towards the window, landing lightly inside the Astronomy Tower. "Damn it! I can't even die properly!" he groused, pulling back out his knife.  
  
He slowly cut more slits running up the length of his arm, watching the blood flow from the slices. He could feel himself calming down, almost hypnotized by the pain and scarlet streams dripping from his fingertips. He watched the blood for almost half an hour before finally healing himself. He sat there, his blood congealing on the floor, until the sun set, a brilliant array of colors, before returning to the main floor of the school.  
  
  
  
Monday morning, Harry was up at dawn, his nightmares keeping him up past midnight and waking him up early in the morning. He lay in bed, mentally and physically exhausted before finally rolling out of bed and escaping to the Great Hall. He ate breakfast quickly, the only other people there being three Ravenclaw fifth years studying for their OWLS.  
  
He left the Great Hall as soon as he had finished and ran outside, eager to practice Quidditch. He grabbed his silver and green broom and kicked off the ground, enjoying the feeling of soaring through the air. He frowned, thinking, *I wish I were a bird. That would be so cool. I could fly on my own- wait a minute! What am I thinking? Of course I can fly!*  
  
Harry landed and concentrated, remembering the Eagle Exhibit that had been at the Zoo all those years ago. *A Golden Eagle. I want to be that.* He felt his mouth lengthen and sharpen, his eyes shift to the sides of his head, and his arms sprouted feathers. In about fifteen seconds, an eagle crouched where Harry had stood.  
  
He raised his wings, flapping rhythmically, and rose from the ground. He swooped higher and higher, finally reaching a thermal air current. He soared over the school, just floating on the currents. He watched Draco walk outside, searching the air for something. Severus joined him and they stood there, talking avidly. Intrigued, he swooped closer, listening in on the conversation.  
  
"Have you seen him?" Severus asked Draco.  
  
Draco shook his head. "No. His bed was messed up, so I know he slept there, but he was awake when I left. Are you sure about him?"  
  
"Are you ever going to talk to him? He does deserve answers and you keep brushing him off."  
  
Draco blushed and scuffed his foot, kicking a dirt clod. "I'm working on it, all right? Geez. I even broke up with that little bitch! What more do you want?"  
  
"I want you to treat him right, for a change! Your attitude is abysmal and he deserves better!" Severus ran a hand through his hair. He looked up, finally noticing the eagle perched on the roof above them.  
  
"I'm working on it, all right? I need time to get used to all this. It's too sudden and I have no idea how he'll react to it." Draco looked up, finally noticing the bird as well. "Hey, isn't that a Golden Eagle? And, aren't they native to North America?"  
  
Harry took that as a sign to fly his little birdie butt away from them. He flew over the Forbidden Forest and touched down, transforming back into his human form for a second before shifting to his Animagus form, the Black Panther. He padded through the forest, losing track of time in the process.  
  
Over an hour passed as he played in the Forest, chasing Doxies and Cornish Pixies, swimming and relaxing by the spring, and finally curling up under a large tree- the same tree where Voldemort had killed the Unicorn and drank its blood. He fell asleep, for the first time having a nightmare free nap.  
  
*HARRY, WHERE ARE YOU????* came an extremely worried mental voice a little over three hours later, cutting through his dreams like a knife. He shot awake, panting, looking around him worriedly.  
  
*Oh SHIT!!! I OVERSLEPT!!!!!* he thought in a panic, shooting to his feet. He raced through the Forest, still in his panther form, skidding to the edge of the Forest. Severus, Draco, Lily and Lames were there, agreeing to search parties and meeting places. He cautiously padded over to them, yawning.  
  
Draco whipped around, relief transforming his features. He sprinted over to Harry, flinging his arms around the surprised panther's neck. "God DAMN it, Harry! Don't scare us like that again! We thought something had happened to you!"  
  
*Something did- I fell asleep, the first nightmare free sleep in almost two weeks, not that you care,* Harry snapped, stalking past him and coming to lie down next to his parents. *Sorry, Mum, Dad, I guess I fell asleep.* Lily and James stared at him incredulously, then shifted into panthers themselves, bowling over their son.  
  
*Harry, don't scare us like that again. Tell us next time you go out for a run, all right?* Lily asked, relieved that he was safe.  
  
*Sure, Mum. I'm really, sorry. I fell asleep and didn't even realize how much time had past.*  
  
They play wrestled on the grass, chasing each other in and out of the Forest. Draco and Severus watched them, sad smiles on their faces. "He brushed right past me, Uncle Sev. I think I've ruined any chance I might have had to make things better between us." *God, I'm such an idiot.*  
  
"I hope you haven't but I am afraid you may be right, Draco. I only hope that Harry will forgive your idiocy and actually listen to what you have to say. You really did screw this one up." Severus walked out into the Forest. *Come on, you three, time for lunch. Harry, you have to see Hagrid about the missed class.*  
  
The three panthers shot out of the Forest, chasing each other all the way to the Castle. Draco and Severus walked back as well, just in time to see the three of them transform back to their human forms, rolling on the grass. Severus watched as Harry lay on his back, laughing. He saw as Harry locked eyes with Draco and Harry stopped laughing immediately, a fleeting look of pain rushing across his features before being replaced by a mask of stony indifference.  
  
*Perhaps there is hope for you two yet, Draco. You had better hurry before the mask becomes reality.* Severus walked into the castle, helping Lily stand up along the way.  
  
  
  
Harry didn't show up for his Spellwriting class, and informed Sinistera that he would instead talk to Alanna about his next project, how to remove the Dark Mark as a spell, not will magic. Draco sat at their table all alone without any work to do now that Harry had finished their project.  
  
"Mr. Malfoy, would you please start a new project? Just because your partner had a burst of inspiration and finished your project on his own, almost a month a head of schedule, does not mean you can skive off for the rest of the month. Please decide a new topic and get to work." Draco scowled, not for the first time wishing that he hadn't ever shut Harry out.  
  
*This is ridiculous. Think, Malfoy, think!* No burst of inspiration came to him, and he stood up and walked over to the bookshelves on the far wall, browsing for a topic. Nothing appealed to him. He walked back to his desk and pulled out the latest Weaseley Wizard Wheezes catalog, browsing through it. *You know, all these are really cool, but the candies you have to get people to eat, and wave the fake wands, when a spell would be much easier... a spell. Hmm, I have my topic.*  
  
Professor Sinistera looked at the magazine in Draco's hand and stormed over. "Mr. Malfoy, what are you doing?" she snarled, ripping the magazine from his hands.  
  
"Getting inspiration, Professor. Those candies are really nice, but a spell that does the same would be more efficient, as well as get better results." Draco sat back in his chair, already deep in thought.  
  
Professor Sinistera stared at him. "These spells are supposed to be productive, not pranks, Mr. Malfoy," she accused.  
  
"Your opponent can't cast a spell if he's an enormous yellow Canary, can he?" The class burst into laughter.  
  
"Very well, Mr. Malfoy, but you'll have to show me feasible battle ideas as well as exactly how it is to be used."  
  
"Why? Diffundo can be used in several different ways, one of which is a torture method," Draco countered.  
  
Sinistera threw up her hands. "Fine!" She stalked back to her desk, the catalog still in her hands. She idly flipped through the magazine, occasionally making check marks on a page, until the end of the period. Draco sat there, occasionally scribbling furiously on a parchment, at other times just sitting there lost in thought.  
  
At the end of the period, he Apparated straight to the Dungeons, ready to help Severus with the research. To his surprise, Severus was already done, the notebook having cut his research time astronomically. Draco set up next to Ginny and prepared a cauldron, idly flipping through the Potions notebook. He finally decided on an interesting alternative to Wolfsbane, although the notebook wasn't clear as to what would happen once the potion was ingested.  
  
Harry hurried into the Lab with about one minute to spare. He put his books down, panting and quickly started a cauldron, mind racing about testing a hypothesis he had. Unfortunately, it meant completely changing the amounts of the ingredients for the Telepathy Potion, but oh well.  
  
An hour later, Harry was back to square one, his idea a flop. Angrily, he ran his fingers through his spikes, shaking his head. "All right, think," he muttered to himself, pacing across the back of the room. Severus watched him, an eyebrow raised as he studied his nephew.  
  
*What in the world?* he wondered, walking over to the ruined mess. "Potter, what is that?" he asked, wrinkling his nose.  
  
"It was supposed to be an improved Telepath potion but I can't figure out what went wrong." Harry angrily strode over to the cauldron and kicked it half heartedly. "It worked in theory but, in real life..." he trailed off, waving his hand at the lumpy, gray, congealed mess in the cauldron.  
  
Severus stared at him. "Well, figure it out and tell me then, because I have no idea what went wrong."  
  
*Gee, thanks. That helps a bunch.* Harry turned back to the cauldron, finally noticing that the fire was too hot. He raised an eyebrow in confusion. *What the hell? How high did I set that?* He knelt down and stared at the fire in consternation. An intense heat had him scrambling backwards. *Oops, found the problem.* He quickly doused the flames before starting over.  
  
Severus stalked over. "Please tell me, Potter, that your mishap was not due to the simplest of mistakes. You didn't overheat Basilisk's blood!"  
  
Harry scuffed his foot. "Yup, sorry, sir. Stupid mistake." He quickly banished the contents of the cauldron, missing the furious look on Severus's face.  
  
"Potter," growled Severus. "I thought you had moved past your incompetence in the Potions Lab or I would have never allowed you in such an advanced class." Harry whipped around, surprised and hurt.  
  
"Sir, tell me that you've never misjudged the temperature of a fire before," Harry protested.  
  
"Actually, no, that's one thing he has NEVER done. That was a really stupid mistake, Harry. With the right ingredients, Basilisk's Blood being one of them, you could have killed us all in an explosion. You're extremely lucky." Lily stood next to Severus, her arms crossed over her chest. "Didn't you research the properties of what you were using beforehand?"  
  
Harry stared at her, extremely hurt by their attitude. "Yes I did, ask Unc- Professor Snape," he hastily corrected himself. "It's all in the notebook."  
  
Severus held up the notebook in question. "Yes, and why isn't it next to you for easy reference?"  
  
Harry raised his eyebrows. "Because you were using it for reference and I didn't think you were done with it, sir."  
  
Severus scowled at him. "Exactly, you didn't think, Potter. Why the hell did you just waste incredibly rare and expensive Potions ingredients? Do you think I pull these ingredients out of thin air?"  
  
*Uncle Sev, technically you can pull them out of the air and you are being way too hard on him,* Emily and Draco thought simultaneously.  
  
He blinked and turned around to stare at them incredulously. Draco glared at him and Emily looked exasperated. *You aren't yelling at Eric and he's done that several times since the start of class- TODAY!* Eric currently had his head on the desk and was catching up on his sleep.  
  
*Besides, Uncle Sev, Harry's already incredibly depressed, enough so that he can't keep it shielded from me any more. He doesn't need you adding to it. He has already too much to handle.* Draco shot at him, still glaring.  
  
*Well that's the pot calling the cauldron black,* Lily snapped, glaring at Draco.  
  
*Um, while you were arguing, Harry just Apparated, extremely upset,* Ginny told them quietly. They turned, finally realizing that Harry was nowhere to be seen, his school bag gone as well and his workspace cleared. The only thing left were Harry's discarded notes, flung on the floor.  
  
Severus rolled his eyes. "Now where has he gone?" he asked, shaking his head. "Really, by now you think he would have developed a thicker skin."  
  
Ginny, Draco and Emily just glared at the two adults in the classroom. They didn't understand anything and could be so dense some times, was the unanimous thought. Eric slept on, oblivious to everything around him.  
  
Ginny read over the discarded notes, eyebrows raised. "You know, Draco this potion does work, extremely well. I want to try it out." Draco frowned, reading over it as well.  
  
Ginny summoned a new cauldron and started the potion, ready to test Harry's theory. Three hours later, everyone else had left and she was still at it, perfecting Harry's potion.  
  
*This is fascinating!* she thought incredulously as she bottled a batch so strong that it would hopefully cross dimensional barriers, i.e. into Clautius's realm.  
  
Severus walked back into the Lab and sat down on the table right next to his niece, a defeated look on his face. "We can't find him anywhere!" he shook his head and sighed. "He doesn't want to be found."  
  
*I never left,* Harry appeared right next to Ginny. Severus jumped and fell from the table with a crash, landing on the floor. He stared at Harry, his mouth opening and closing rapidly.  
  
"We've been working for over three and a half hours. Did you think I'd experiment with his ideas without him there?" Ginny asked, a frown of concentration on her face. She thrust the bottle into Severus's hands as he stood up. "Don't drop that. It'll make the linking potion work across dimensional barriers, which means-"  
  
"I'll be able to link with Laurel from here and keep the link open," Severus finished, staring at Harry in astonishment. "We've been looking for you for hours. How- Where- What-" he sputtered, rage contorting his face.  
  
Harry stared sullenly at him. "You thought I Apparated but I only didn't want to be seen or felt. I was invisible and completely shielded the whole time."  
  
Severus glared at him. "You insolent brat," he hissed, furious and relieved. "We were worried sick and you've been playing with us the entire time. There are people who care for you and you just hurt them terribly. They thought something horrible had happened to you, and you didn't even see fit to inform your mother you were all right!!!!" he bellowed, finally snapping.  
  
Harry shrank back and searched for a retort, but none came to him. A single tear trickled down his face as Severus continued his tirade.  
  
"How DARE you! We've had search parties combing the Forbidden Forest, Hogsmeade, the Castle, and we couldn't find you! Your mother has been FRANTIC!!!!"  
  
Harry stared at him, wide eyed. "I thought that's what you wanted, asshole!" he finally exploded. "You made it perfectly clear how incompetent I was, and my Mum agreed with you! You made it clear you DIDN'T want me AROUND!!" *And I already know I'm not worth your time and no one wants me around. You don't have to rub it in.* Harry stormed off, Apparating for real this time, as well as resuming his invisibility and immovable shields.  
  
Severus stared at the place where Harry had just been standing. "Did he just call me an asshole?" he demanded.  
  
Ginny stared at him. "Yes, I'm glad to see you aren't deaf," she snapped, terrified at the rage and suicidal feelings coming from Harry before he Apparated.  
  
"Young lady, watch your tone!" he snapped, ready to give her detention or dock House points.  
  
"He's SUICIDAL, YOU INCOMPETANT ASS!!!!!" she screamed, finally letting out her pent up rage and frustration. Severus's eyes bugged out. "HE'S BEEN SLITTING HIS WRISTS AGAIN AND THAT'S PROBABLY WHAT HE'S DOING RIGHT NOW AND IT IS ALLYOUR FAULT AND NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO FIND HIM AND HE WANTS – TO – DIE – THIS – TIME!!!!!" Severus stared at her, a sick expression on his face.  
  
Weakly, he sank back down to a sitting position, several tears leaking from his eyes. "Oh shit," he mumbled.  
  
  
  
Harry sat, curled in a ball, rocking back and forth. Tears streamed from his eyes and he sobbed, alone. *I'm worthless and I cause others pain. People die because of me and they get hurt because of me. If I weren't here they would be all right.* He pulled out his knife again, tears dripping onto the blade. *I want it to end, dear God how I want this to end. Every day it's the same thing. I'm still a fucking weapon, this time to fight the big bad Satan. No one cares and they'd be better off if I never existed. Draco wouldn't have to deal with being bound to a person he doesn't even like, my parents would have never died in the first place, and Siri wouldn't be in Hell. I can't even pull myself together enough to get them out of there. I'm useless! I've had enough! I can't take this any more! I want this to be over with!*  
  
He stared at the knife in fascination, wondering. *Do I dare? Could I take this completely into my hands and end this now?* He turned it over in his hands, just staring at the blades. *I already know what it'll feel like. I've cut myself often enough. Do I have the strength to even try?* To cut and cut deeper and deeper until it can't heal fast enough for it to matter? Did he?  
  
  
  
Severus dashed over to the back of the Potions Lab, bringing out three phials filled with a brilliant crimson. Ginny, doing a double take, wondered if they were blood. *DRACO!!!!!!* screamed Severus.  
  
Immediately, Draco, Lily, James, Alanna, Xander, and the rest of the demigods and demigoddesses were there, milling about. "What??? What is it???" demanded Draco.  
  
"Sal! If he ingests this before the week of shelf life is up, what will happen?" demanded Severus, completely frantic.  
  
Sal stared at it. "It'll work for about five minutes, maximum, why?"  
  
"We found Harry but he's gone and he's gonna kill himself!" Ginny burst out, tears falling down her face.  
  
"WHAT???" yelped James and Lily, rushing to Severus. "What are you – What???"  
  
"What is this?" Draco asked, staring at the potion.  
  
"It's the linking potion. Harry has found a way to make himself not only invisible, but completely shielded from our senses. He can't be found unless you can get him to drop his shields!" Severus thrust a phial at Draco and he took it warily.  
  
"Why me?" Draco asked. "Why not his parents?"  
  
"You're his soul mate and the reason he's doing this!" Ginny snapped. "You have to show him how you feel!"  
  
"But he hates me! I hurt him horribly by my actions at the party! I knew how his uncle treated him and how he hates to be touched and how he doesn't want anything like that from me and I still took advantage of him!" Draco protested, waving his arms around.  
  
"You idiot!" Ginny snapped. "He LOVES you! Get it through your head. We had a talk about this and he didn't have a problem with it at all! It's when he saw you kidding that Ravenclaw WHORE that he freaked out! He actually trusted you not to hurt him and you hurt him worse than his uncle ever did!"  
  
Draco stared at her, his face ashen. "You- you mean that he was all right with what happened?" he asked slowly. "Why didn't he tell me?" A tear trickled down his face.  
  
"Because he saw you with that girl and then you told him it didn't mean anything. That's when all this started. It's your fault that it happened, now FIX IT!!!!!" she shrieked, completely transforming in her fury. "FIND MY BROTHER AND FIX HIM!!!! YOU BROKE HIM NOW MAKE IT RIGHT!!!!!!!"  
  
  
  
He experimentally held the knife to his arm, for the first time feeling happy. *It's going to really be over soon,* he thought in wonder, sticking the blade over three inches straight into his arm. He hissed in pain, and slowly dragged the knife all the way down his arm, digging deeper and deeper into his forearm. Blood, a vivid scarlet, spurted from the wound and he stared at it as it spurted faster and faster. *This isn't so bad,* he thought faintly, hypnotized by the spurting artery spilling his life onto the cold stone ground.  
  
He gripped the slick knife in his other hand, and slashed his other arm the same way, falling forward, already dizzy from the blood loss. *I'm doing it. I'm actually, for once, in control of my life and my actions. For once, I make the rules, the decisions. No more manipulations, no more lies. Just peace, wonderful peace. I choose this. I choose death over my pitiful excuse of a life.* He fell onto the floor and curled into a ball. His last conscious thought, before blackness overtook his mind, was *I pity the person who has to clean the blood.*  
  
  
  
Draco gulped the contents of the phial, gagging on the sickly sweet taste running down his throat. Immediately, he threw his mind out to his soul mate's, feeling, for the first time in weeks, Harry's mind. Blackness threatened to overtake him and he stumbled, falling against a desk. Strong arms caught him and sat him down.  
  
"Where is he?" came a voice, frantic with worry. Draco concentrated.  
  
"The Astronomy Tower. Go now, it's almost too late," he spoke haltingly, shutting down all the mental and physical barriers Harry had erected between himself and the world. He felt his soul mate's life force fading and he Apparated, appearing beside Harry's bloodstained body.  
  
Draco threw his magic into Harry's body, trying desperately to heal his soul mate. *Harry, please heal! I love you more than life itself! Please, come back!!!* He thought frantically as the bleeding refused to slow. Desperate, Draco poured more and more of himself into Harry, trying to repair the damage. *I NEED HELP!!!!* he screamed, realizing that his efforts were in vain.  
  
Everyone Apparated into the room, their auras flared. Lily knelt by Draco, running her fingers through Harry's hair. "Oh, my boy, why didn't you tell us? You promised." Tears slid down her cheeks and she focused her energy on her son, her and Draco's combined magic finally starting to slow the blood. James stood next to her, adding his magic to the mix. Severus, Alanna, Xander, Gaila, Olivia- one by one, they added their powers, the room growing brighter and brighter as they forced their magic into Harry's body and mind, healing the damage he wrought on himself.  
  
They sat like that for hours, healing and rehealing. Every time they managed to seal one wound and start on the other, the first one sprang back open.  
  
"GOD DAMN IT, HARRY!!!! Just HEAL!" Draco screamed, after his wounds had popped open for the tenth time.  
  
*Why?* came the faint reply. *Let me go. I want this. Besides, with me gone, you don't have to be with someone you can't stand. You said it yourself. I'm damaged goods. Now let me go. I'm going home and you can't stop me. Mother is waiting and I can finally have peace.*  
  
Alanna stared at the comatose boy in shock. *You bastard!!!* she yelled. *So you're just going to give up, just like that? You're our only hope in hell of winning this war , you pathetic loser!*  
  
*I couldn't save myself from a Muggle. What makes you think I can take on Satan? I'm nothing, nothing special. In fact, my Uncles, both of them, were right about me. I am worthless. I can't do anything right. You people don't see just how pathetic I really am. I'm just going to fail, so why bother?*  
  
*BECAUSE I LOVE YOU, YOU MORON!!!!!* Draco screamed at him.  
  
Harry's eyes popped open, and he stared at Draco with dead eyes. *Bull shit. I mean nothing to you. You told me that.*  
  
Draco grabbed Harry's mind and forced their consciousnesses to meld completely. Harry's eyes widened as he saw exactly what his soul mate had gone through and why. In return, Draco had tears streaming down his face as he felt exactly what he had done to drive Harry to suicide. They sat there, staring at each other, faces inches apart. Neither of them noticed as a faint verdant glow surrounded Harry, slowly closing and sealing the gashes on his arms. Everyone sat back, sighing in relief, as Harry's face lost its pallor and the wounds finally stayed closed for more than a few seconds.  
  
Draco and Harry, locked in each others' minds, ignored everyone around them as they completely explored the other. Harry shifted in Draco's lap, finding a comfortable spot, and they sat that way for a long time, with Harry resting his head against Draco's shoulder, cradled in his arms. Draco and Harry's magic melded, completely healing the Gryffindor and restoring the blood he lost.  
  
*Don't ever shut me out like that again. Promise me you won't. It almost killed me,* Harry thought sleepily.  
  
*I promise, Harry. Don't ever do something like that again. I can't lose you now, not when I only just found you.* Draco stroked Harry's hair absently, still crying profusely.  
  
*You do know that this is going to take a long time to forgive. Don't think that we are going to kiss and make up. You really hurt me.*  
  
*I know. Ginny told me. What I did was worse than anything Vernon could have done because you trusted me not to hurt you.* They sat that way for almost an hour in silence, their minds irrevocably joined, never again to separate. Everyone, with the exception of Lily, James, Severus, and Ginny left, the crisis averted.  
  
Lily stared at Harry, tears still falling down her cheeks. "Harry, why? Why didn't you come to me? You promised."  
  
He turned to her, tears falling anew down his face. "I did, Mum. You didn't have time for me!" his face twisted and he buried his face into Draco's shoulder, inadvertently showing Draco the memory.  
  
"What?" she asked, confused and hurt. "I always have time for you!"  
  
"No, no you didn't. Harry is right. He came to you, the both of you, and you blew him off!" Draco exclaimed, shocked and hurt. "You're his parents and you convinced him you had no time for him! You were too busy with the newest Potter! He tired to tell you and you ignored him and told him to come back later!"  
  
Lily and James stared at the two of them, confused and hurt. "What? When did that happen?" James asked, staring at them.  
  
"Yesterday! He came in and asked you if he could talk to you and you- "  
  
"We told him we were busy and to come back later." Lily stared at Harry, her face very pale. "Oh my, God, Harry, I am so sorry. That was inexcusable." She stared at her son, unable to think of anything to do or say to make it better, because, in reality, nothing could. She and James had failed.  
  
"Can I go back to the Dorms, please? Take me home. I'm really tired," Harry whispered to Draco. He nodded and joined hands with Ginny, Apparating them straight to the boy's dorms. They all crawled into bed together, Ginny and Draco on either side of Harry. They lay there, deeply linked, and slept peacefully, without a single nightmare amongst the three of them.  
  
  
  
A/N: All right all right, that's the last you'll see of suicidal Harry. God, writing like that makes me SOOOOOO depressed. And, Gabbers, is that a happy enough ending for you? They are together.... But not in the way you all want, I'm afraid. So sorry, but I just can't bring myself to write true slash, at least not yet. Maybe by the end of book one (out of two and an epilogue) they'll have something going, but not soon by any means of the imagination.  
  
B/N: .... At long last. WAAAAAAAHHHHH! It's so ha-a-a-appy! Well, the ending is. As for the suicidal Harry part, well, thank God for Prozac! So now everything be nicey-nice, no? No! It will not all be nicey-nice! We have a lifetime of psychiatric therapy to get through, you dumbasses! Then, and only then, it will all be nicey-nice. Which is why we have to move on from this chapter and continue the story! So we get to see the ending before the world comes to an end! Oooh, on a less depressing note..... hmm..... uuuh..... damnit! Nothing less depressing to talk about! F*ck! Oh Hell, tune in next time! Toodles! 


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Vividian, are you sure???? You sure sound experienced in that area of crack dreams...... Anyway, on to Chapter 22!  
  
Chapter 22  
  
Harry awoke the next morning feeling more loved than he had ever felt in his life. Four strong arms were wrapped around him, holding him tightly. He slowly opened his eyes, feeling the still slumbering minds of his soul mate and his sister comfortably in his own mind. He gently sat up, not wanting to dislodge them or waken them. He sat that way, just watching them as they slept.  
  
Gently, he leaned over and smoothed the hair from Draco's face. _So beautiful,_ he mused, staring at the angelic face of his soul mate._ Who knew an Angel could hurt someone so badly?_ His mind started replaying everything that had happened to him over the last two week until- _STOP IT, BRAIN!_ he yelled at himself, forgetting that he was linked to both Draco and Ginny.  
  
They shot out of bed, glowing their respective auras, ready to take care of any threat. "What- What's going on?" Draco half yelled, staring wildly around the room. "Harry???" Ginny whipped her head around the room, smelling the air, already halfway in her demon form.  
  
"Oh shit..." mumbled Harry. "I didn't mean to wake you. It's been a while since I had someone linked to my thoughts. I'm really sorry," he muttered, sitting on the edge of his bed. Ginny and Draco stared at him, before collapsing on the floor in hysterical laughter.  
  
Harry just stared at them as they rolled on the floor laughing. Extreme amounts of mirth rolled over him and he fought to keep a straight face. After a minute, he caved in and started chuckling, sitting on the floor next to Draco and Ginny.  
  
"Are you two able to talk?" he asked quietly several minutes later. Ginny gasped and nodded, Draco only slightly nodding as he was hiccupping from laughing so hard.  
  
"I'm really sorry-" he started but Ginny waved her hand.  
  
"It's all right. We had to wake up anyway, and you know, I think what happened was a better wakeup than coffee anyway."  
  
"Speak for yourself," Draco grumped, trying to hold back a smile. _Damn, Harry is so sexy sitting there in nothing but his boxers..._ he thought to himself, forgetting that Harry could hear him quite well.  
  
Harry's eyes widened and he stared at Draco. _You weren't kidding around about that, were you?_ he asked nervously.  
  
Draco stared at him, first flabbergasted, then concerned. _You are still uncomfortable with that?_ he asked sadly.  
  
_ No, just not used to anyone really finding me attractive. It's hard to believe,_ Harry responded before thinking about what he was saying. _Oops, what I-  
_  
"Oh shut up already," Draco remarked, leaning over and kissing Harry quickly on the lips before escaping to the shower.  
  
Harry stared after him, bemused. _That kiss was over entirely too soon,_ he thought to himself, before realizing that Draco just heard him. _Oops_.  
  
Draco laughed, his mental voice rolling over Harry like a warm blanket. Harry shivered, his eyes slightly glazing over. _Well, why don't you come in here and join me? I could use a hand... or two.  
_  
Harry felt a brief wave of pure lust, followed by indecision and trepidation. Was he ready for that?_ Ummmm,_ he thought in confusion.  
  
Draco immediately understood. _It's all right, Harry. Don't worry about it._  
  
Harry, relieved, turned around, only to find Ginny standing there, smirking. _Oops.  
  
_ _ Oops is right, darling big brother. Did someone forget that I was still there?_ Ginny asked playfully.  
  
Harry groaned and grinned, shaking his head. _Yup. You heard everything, right?  
  
_ _ Of course. So, how much money could I make from that bit of information?_ Ginny mused.  
  
_You wouldn't dare!_ Draco yelled from the shower. Harry tried not to think about Draco, the shower, or the previous offer.  
  
_Clear mind, completely empty- sexy, naked/wet Draco- THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT BY EMPTY!_ Harry yelled at his mind, as Ginny laughed uncontrollably on the floor next to him.  
  
_Wow, and I thought I needed it bad..._ Draco mused to himself from the shower._ Tsk tsk, Harry, no one ever benefits from keeping it all inside.  
_  
_Heard that, Draco!_ Harry shouted back at him. _And no matter how accurate your assumptions may be-  
_  
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA (manic laughter lowers a few decibels to insane giggles), heeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee-  
  
Draco, who had come out of the bathroom at the sound of Ginny's impending insanity, stood over her, looking quite perplexed. He stared down her, wrapped in nothing but a small black towel.  
  
_Gin, love, are you feeling okay?_ Draco asked tentatively of his younger sister.  
  
(Snort)BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAheeheeheeheeheeAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-   
  
_Nice going, Drake, you set her off again._ Harry said to him.  
  
After about five minutes of Ginny settling down, and then randomly spouting off into another giggle fit, Harry and Draco decided to leave her to it, and hopefully she would come around on her own.  
  
_Once she calms down again, get her a glass of water,_ Draco said as walked back to the bathroom, and maybe that will keep her from laughing- _oh, and make sure she doesn't start choking.  
_  
_Anything for you, my little dragon- I- uh, I mean, not that you're little- uh- sure thing. I- I'll go get that water. _Harry stuttered dumbly and turned to leave the room, Ginny laughing so hard she was crying, and Draco terribly amused, and in desperate need of a cold shower.  
  
  
  
An hour later, filled with much banging of heads against walls, Harry returned to his room with a mild concussion. He reached under his bed, looking for his boots, and instead pulled out the container he had put the Basilisk eggs in. _Oh yeah! _he thought, staring at the box in shock. I_ completely forgot all about these!_ Cautiously he opened the box to find... eggs. Two of them, to be exact._ What the hell? How long to these take to hatch???_ Harry stared at the eggs, completely confused. Every other species had eggs that hatched within two months, and those eggs looked as if they had been down there for centuries.  
  
_Draco? _Harry searched for his soul mate.  
  
_Yes?_ he asked, concentrating on something else.  
  
_ Never mind, I'll figure it out._ Harry thought, trying to figure out who could help him. _Of course! SAL!  
_  
_What? _Sal asked, Apparating straight into the dorm room.  
  
_ How do you get these to hatch? _Harry asked, gesturing at the two Basilisk eggs.  
  
_ Hmm, you better wait until summer. You need them to see the light of two consecutive full moons, and then have them under twelve full hours of sunlight._ Sal stared at the eggs lovingly. I_ already did the full moon last month and the next full moon is in two days, after that I think I'll make a world where Basilisks are the top predator. How's that sound?  
_  
Harry raised his eyebrows. _Sounds great. So, I guess I can leave them under my bed then?_ he asked, putting the lid back on the box.  
  
_ I don't see why not. They should be perfectly safe down there.  
  
_ _ Good to know. Thanks, Sal._ Sal Apparated out of the room and Harry gently pushed the box back under his bed.  
  
  
  
For Harry especially, the week went by slowly. In the Wandless and Elemental Magic class, there was an incredible high note, the only one of the entire week. Neville, Luna, Seamus, Blaise, Emily, Eric, Ron, Hermione and Dudley mastered their Animagus forms within a month of Alanna broaching the subject.  
  
Ron, a russet colored Golden Retriever, chased Hermione, a gold and scarlet Phoenix around the grounds as Dudley, a pit bull, Neville, a lion, Luna, a unicorn, and Blaise, a cougar, watched with interest while lounging on the soft grass. For Emily and Seamus, it was a bit of a problem as her form was a dolphin and his was a sea otter. Eric came up with a solution by neatly turning the top half of the lake into sea water and keeping them from intermixing through will and elemental magic. The two of them frolicked in the waves as Eric, an osprey, soared overhead.  
  
Harry, still hurt by Draco's, his parents' and Severus's actions, was still very quiet and withdrawn. Ginny and Draco did their best to cheer him and keep him from being alone. They spent almost all of their time with him, which worked out since Harry and Draco had the exact same school schedule. While Harry greatly appreciated it, the closeness began to irritate him, to the point of him trying to deliberately avoid his soul mate's mother hen instincts.  
  
"For Christ's sake, Draco! I'm not going to break! Give me some room already!" he finally exploded Thursday during lunch. They were sitting under the trees on the edge of the Forbidden forest, enjoying the last snow free day of fall. "Come on already! Relax a bit, would ya?"  
  
"Nope, not gonna. I'm not going to take the chance of you getting suicidal again and my not being able to help you." Draco took a bite of his sandwich resolutely. "You still are borderline and I'm not letting you be alone."  
  
Harry turned to Ginny for help. "What's his problem, Gin?" he asked, shaking his head.  
  
"You are, and I agree with him. I'm not letting you out of my sight, either. No way in hell. You know how to disappear far too well and I'm not going to let that happen again." She grabbed an apple from the picnic basket. She looked up. "Hey, Blaise, Seamus, Neville, Luna. Join us."  
  
They sat down, and grabbed sandwiches for themselves. "Thanks, Ginny. Hye, Harry, Draco. How's it going?" Luna asked, a dreamy expression on her face. Neville handed her a sandwich and a napkin, smiling at her.  
  
Harry quickly put two and two together. _Neville has it for Luna pretty bad,_ he thought to his soul mate privately.  
  
Draco turned an appraising eye to the other two._ I agree. It's obvious.   
  
_Hmmm. Emily and Eric, Blaise and Seamus, Neville and Luna. _Why is everyone pairing off? _Harry wondered.  
  
Draco lightly smacked him upside the head. _You dork, we are at a coed school and we are teenagers. What did you expect? Celibacy?   
_  
Harry grinned, rubbing the back of his skull. _Oh yeah. I forgot.   
_  
_Sometimes I really wonder about you,_ Draco said fondly. Harry just grinned and they finished their lunch.  
  
  
  
"Oh Lord, I must be dreaming," Harry moaned as Draco pinned him against the shower wall, their tongues battling furiously.  
  
"Well, if we are, then you better not wake up," Draco groaned in reply, smoothing his soapy hands down his soul mate's rock hard body. Harry neatly flipped Draco around until the cool, moist tiles were at his back and slid their bodies together, eliciting strangled moans from the both of them. "Oh God, more, please God, more," Draco gasped, his vision blurring from lust.  
  
Harry turned Draco around and pinned him, chest flush against the wall. "Mine," he growled, stroking one finger from the middle of Draco's spine all the way- "Oh GOD yes! Harry! Stop teasing me!" Draco yelped, silenced abruptly as Harry's mouth descended on his, bruising his lips. "MMMMMgh- MMMMPH!" Draco yelled into his soul mate's mouth as he felt fingers stretching him, preparing him. "Harry- I-"  
  
Draco and Harry shot upright at the same time, panting. They looked at each other, blushed, and looked away. _Oh shit,_ they thought in unison, unable to meet the other's eyes. "Well," said Harry neutrally. "That was... interesting," he said, trying to hide his erection.  
  
Draco nodded, humiliated, trying to do the same. "Very interesting, to say the least." He stood up and walked quickly to the shower, leaving Harry behind. _I wish it would actually happen,_ Draco thought before he could stop himself.  
  
Harry's eyes widened and he gasped, thinking along the same lines as his soul mate. _Don't I wish, but I dunno. It doesn't feel right, _he thought to himself as soon as Draco had entered the shower.  
  
Unseen by his soul mate, Draco leaned against the cool tile. "Oh hell, this isn't good," he moaned quietly aloud. "How are we supposed to deal with sharing each others dreams when they're like THAT???"  
  
_Um, no idea, Draco. What day is it?_ Harry asked, rolling out of bed to bravely face the day.  
  
_ Saturday, and we have a game in two hours,_ came the neutral reply.  
  
Harry groaned and stared longingly at the covers of his bed._ Let me guess, Beaubaxtons?_ he asked, stretching. Draco came out of the bathroom is a fluffy green towel, Harry's eyes raking over his undressed soul mate before steeling himself and looking elsewhere.  
  
He was unaware that Draco had done the same before forcing himself to look away. _God DAMN hormones!!!_ Harry yelled mentally, causing Draco to jump and Eric to look out of the beg hangings sleepily.  
  
"Oy! Losers could you please keep it down? Some of us are trying to sleep!" he yelled, rubbing his eyes.  
  
Emily walked in, followed by Blaise, Seamus and Luna. "No you aren't. Get your ass out of bed right now!" Em yelled, smirking and crossing her arms.  
  
"Nuh huh." Eric pouted and crossed his arms. "You can't make me."  
  
"Wanna bet?" Emily grabbed him quickly by the arms and dragged him out of his bed. He fell on the floor, naked as the day he was born. "Perfect! Now I don't have to take your clothes off.... THAT WAS WRONG!!!!" she yelled, giggling.  
  
Harry and Draco stared at each other before laughing out loud. "Emily, you have a sick, sick mind!" Harry gasped out, sniggering.  
  
"Why Em," Eric teased. "I didn't know you wanted me THAT badly!"  
  
Emily hit him on the chest with a pillow, unabashed at the three scantily clad or nude guys in front of her. "Go take a shower. You smell," she informed Eric, waving a hand in front of her face. "Why must the guys' dorms always smell like old socks and ass?"  
  
Draco stared at her. "And how many dorm rooms have you been in to make this comparison?" he asked, enjoying the slight look of outrage on Eric's face and the blush that crept up Emily's face.  
  
"Ummmm, damned if I do, damned if I don't," she sighed. "I had a lot of guy friends at my old school and we'd hang out in their dorms. NOTHING HAPPENED!" she snapped, catching Eric's snarl. "We played video games." Everyone except for Harry stared at her, clueless. "You guys have no clue what I'm talking about, do you." Everyone except for Harry shook their heads dumbly. "It's a game, I'll leave it at that. But, their rooms always reeked and it was the worst smell in the world."  
  
"All right, people, we have a game to play," Harry said, walking to the bathroom. Draco, still having to finish his shower, followed him.  
  
Eric stared at the two of them. "Um, Blaise, you mind if I use your bathroom? I don't want to be in that one right now," he said, staring at the closed door. "I don't know what'll happen in there and I don't even want to find out."  
  
Unfortunately for Harry and Draco, nothing happened.  
  
They walked out of the bathroom in silence, fully clothed, ten minutes later. Everyone else had already gone to breakfast, so they walked together in silence to the Great Hall. _This is really screwing everything up between us, isn't it? _Draco asked Harry sadly, playing with his blue streaked hair.  
  
_Not really, it just makes things a little weird right now. I do want to further this into a relationship, but you really lost a lot of my trust and it - _Harry had to stop and really think about what he was saying. _I guess that's going to take a while, that's all.   
_  
_I know, I really screwed up and it's going to be the slowest of the slow. But, you know, it's not like I can go anywhere else. It's weird. I can't even imagine being with anyone else. Francesca grabbed me and all I could think of was how wrong it felt to be grabbed by anyone other than you. I just kept thinking to myself that it should be you.   
_  
Harry grinned slightly. _It's not like I even WANT to EVER be touched by anyone else. I trust you- I do, don't get me wrong, but you do have to rebuild it a bit- and I don't trust anyone else not to hurt me.   
  
Speaking of which, several people owe you apologies._ Draco sneered slightly at the thought of the way his godfather had treated Harry.  
  
_Just drop it. I'm sure he didn't mean it, I hope._ Harry's face fell as he remembered the harsh words.  
  
Draco put an arm around his shoulders protectively. _He will apologize and he will do so in my presence if he wants to retain his full capability to use his appendages,_ he growled, sending a wave of fierce protectiveness to his soul mate.  
  
Harry shivered._ Would you stop doing that? You're not helping any, you know,_ he complained.  
  
Draco grinned. _Aww, is someone having an, 'ahem', hard time of it?_ he asked, smirking.  
  
Harry just glared at him as they walked into the Hall, taking their customary seat at the Slytherin Table, and surrounded themselves with their friends. Harry looked around and found all of his team mates. _Ok, everyone, we leave in what, an hour and a half?_ he asked, receiving thirteen nods in reply.  
  
At the teacher's table, Severus stared at Harry, an unreadable expression on his face. Lily, James, and Remus sat around him, chatting and laughing. _Oh God, I've fucked this one up. Now, how in hell to apologize to my nephew? I did make an ass out of myself and I am sorry, but I doubt he's going to forgive me so easily,_ he mused, staring at Harry and Draco. He looked down at his plate, not even remotely hungry.  
  
_Actually, Uncle Sev, that was all I needed to hear, _Harry's amused, carefree voice cut into his mind. He looked up, startled, and locked gazes with his nephew. Harry grinned at him and turned back to Draco, who turned and smiled at him approvingly before turning back to his own meal.  
  
_Ok, that was strange,_ thought Severus quietly before turning back to his own meal with a renewed appetite.  
  
Dumbledore stood up at the teacher's table, his eyes twinkling. "I have an announcement to make. In two week's time, on December the 12th, we will be holding the Yule Ball. Fourth years and older are welcome, as you all know, and it will be held in the Great Hall from six p.m. until midnight." He sat back down, enjoying th eflurry of activity his announcement had caused.  
  
  
  
The team silently Apparated straight to the Beaubaxton's guest locker rooms, ready to play. They waited in silence, knowing that the Beaubaxton's team would be pushovers. Harry and Draco, as one, opened the links between the team members, reveling in the feeling of closeness between everyone.  
  
_All right the, that's out cue. Remember, you know the drill. If you're gonna cheat, don't get caught,_ Draco ordered, shooting into the air, Harry and Ginny close behind him. The rest of the team followed, taking their places.  
  
They shook hands with the other captains and started the game. Like they had guessed, they won within a half an hour, 370 to 30. It was pathetic because the Beaubaxton team didn't even try to win, they just le the Hogwarts team bulldoze right over them. The entire team zipped back to the locker rooms and Apparated back to the school, wishing unanimously that the other teams would pose even somewhat of a challenge.  
  
Harry and Draco were the last to take their showers. For some reason, everyone had gotten out of there as fast as possible, leaving the two of them alone together. "Well, that was incredibly weird," commented Harry thoughtfully as he stared at the swinging door of the locker room. Cho had just run through it, saying she'd take her shower in the Prefect's bathroom. "What the hell is going on?"  
  
"I have no idea," Draco replied as he stood under the water.  
  
Harry briefly saw a flash of skin before turning away and standing under another showerhead. _Just breathe and don't think about it, don't EVEN think about it,_ he warned himself.  
  
In the other shower, Draco didn't even attempt to hold in a snicker. "You all right over there, Harry? You know, any time you want to join me..." Draco left the proposition open ended, hoping Harry would take him up on it but knowing he wouldn't.  
  
Harry turned crimson. Ohh, the offer was tempting... Harry shook his head. "I'm not that easy, Malfoy," he called over to the other shower. "You're going to have to do better than that."  
  
Draco snickered. "You really don't want to know how I'm going to do that, do you."  
  
Harry remained crimson at the mental images Draco decided to send his way. "Ummmm..." he trailed off. "Remind me again why I am insisting we wait?"  
  
"I have no idea, Harry, but it can't be a very good reason if you've forgotten it already." Draco walked, naked, to the shower curtain surrounding Harry's shower and stopped. "One word, Harry, that's all it'll take. That dream we shared can come true, you know."  
  
Harry stood there, wracked with indecision. He was about to say yes, when.... BOOOM! The ground shook as a shockwave hit them. Harry stumbled, falling forwards into Draco, pulling the shower curtain from its rings as they both tumbled to the ground.  
  
"What the FUCK was THAT??" yelled Harry, instantly drying the both of them. Draco looked around wildly, and an instant later, they were fully clothed.  
  
"I have no clue, Harry. "They nodded to each other and Apparated to the source of the power surge.  
  
They stood in the center of the Chamber of Secrets, their auras flared, to find a very naked and embarrassed female Blaise and a very naked Seamus. Their powers were flared and completely joined, undertoned by a white glow.  
  
"What the hell happened?" Harry demanded.  
  
"Well, we had sex for first time, you dumbass," Seamus said casually.  
  
"I didn't know the earth was really supposed to move," Draco said calmly.  
  
Blaise snickered. "Well, we decided to link minds and now we can't get them apart." She stared at Seamus provocatively, before changing gender. "Not that we want them separate."  
  
"Oh no, love, I like you this way just fine," Seamus growled before throwing himself at his now male partner. Draco and Harry glanced at each other wryly and Apparated the hell away from what was sure to give them an NC 17 visual.  
  
"They bonded. They do realize that they are linked forever, right?" Draco said wryly once they were back in their room.  
  
"That's what bonding does?" Harry asked curiously. "Oh shit, then we can't!" he yelled.  
  
"Why the fuck not?" Draco protested, suddenly furious.  
  
"If that much energy was created from their bonding to cause an earthquake, what'll ours do???" Harry yelled, panicked. "We are the most powerful beings in existence besides Mother, you know!"  
  
Draco stared at him incredulously. "So???" he asked, frowning.  
  
"We'd blow up the planet!!!!" Harry snapped, stalking away from him and pacing. "We'd destroy the one thing we were created to protect!"  
  
Draco sat down heavily. "Oh," he said, staring at the wall. Emily and Eric walked in at that minute, both looking quite exhilarated.  
  
"Hey, you two, what's wrong?" Emily asked, sitting down on the floor in front of Draco. "What happened?"  
  
"And what was that earthquake?" Eric added, sitting next to his girlfriend, who immediately crawled into his lap and kissed him.  
  
"That earthquake was Seamus and Blaise bonding, and we're upset because if we bond, we'll take out the planet with the force of power," Harry told them, staring at Draco sadly.  
  
"Oh," said Eric absently as Emily played with his hair. "That's nice. Um, Em, could we do this somewhere more ummm, ohhhh, private?"  
  
"Why?" Emily asked, smirking. "I was just finished, anyway." She walked out of the room, leaving a very frustrated Eric behind her.  
  
Harry and Draco laughed and walked out behind her, leaving a fuming Eric in their wake.  
  
  
  
That night, they all met in the Chamber of Secrets just to hang out and talk. Eric and Emily quickly claimed an overstuffed velvet chair, Seamus and Blaise were practically molded together at one end of a couch, Harry and Draco sat next to them, barely touching. Ginny sat on a bean bag chair on the floor, and Neville lay on the other couch, his head on Luna's lap.  
  
"So, what do you want to do for this ball?" Harry asked, stretching.  
  
"I say we go. It could be interesting," offered Neville from Luna's lap. A general murmur of agreement cinched it.  
  
"Ok, what do you all say to a full blown prank war?" Ginny asked suddenly.  
  
Draco and Harry grinned. "Oh, we have some ideas, but I think Uncle Sev, Lily, James and Remus need to be made aware of them before hand, just so they don't freak," Draco said with a grin.  
  
Harry lightly smacked him upside the head. "Nothing to permenantly scar anyone, although I do have a way to get back at Filch," Harry grinned evilly, making Draco shiver.  
  
"You are truly scary when you gein like that, do you realize that?" Emily asked, seated on Eric's lap.  
  
"I think that's why he grins like that- the shock and fear factor is incredible," Ginny muttered from her bean bag, laughing.  
  
Harry smirked. "Gin, you know me far too well."  
  
"So, any objections to to the pranking?" Draco asked simply. Everyone shook their heads, already planning what they wanted to do.  
  
"How about you make it a contest?" Severus's silky voice asked from behind them. They turned as one to see him, Lily, James, Remus, Alanna and Xander standing there, identical smirks on their faces.  
  
"Why not?" Blaise asked, grinning. "The best prank could get something and that would make it much more interesting and all."  
  
"What would we get?" Draco asked suspiciously.  
  
Severus grinned evilly. "How about an Outstanding in Potions?" he offered.  
  
Draco and Harry shrugged. "And we could get theose without needing the extra help," Draco reminded his godfather.  
  
"Longbottom couldn't," Severus smirked, staring at Neville defiantly.  
  
Neville shrugged. "You know, it's like mixing drinks, and you did say if I mixed potions with the skill I used at the party you'd give me an Outstanding. Besides, I haven't exploded a cauldron since then. I'd say I could get an O on my own."  
  
Severus shrugged. "Fine, I'll retract-"  
  
"We'll take it," Blaise interjected hastily. Seamus, Eric, and Emily nodded as well.  
  
"Hey, a free grade is a free grade no matter what." Emily stood and shook Severus's hand formally. "It is a deal, Professor Snape. Do you mind if we set one or two in your class?" she asked, an evil smirk crossing her features.  
  
Severus shook his head. "Not at all, provided I know about it ahead of time."  
  
"Very well, I'll go first, in Potions Monday morning," Ginny interjected and This is what I'll do." She layed out her plans, causing everyone to grin widely.  
  
"Very nice, Miss Weaseley, very nice," Severus approved, grinning. "I like your ideas. Anyone next?"  
  
Harry and Draco gave their ideas that targeted specific teachers. Severus frowned. "If you get detention, it's automatically forfeited," he warned. Everyone nodded.  
  
"So, any rules?" Blaise asked.  
  
Harry cracked up. "You only want to know them so you can break them," he laughed. Everyone giggled.  
  
Severus grinned. Lily took over. "Rule one, nothing that kills or maims. Rule two, don't get caught. Rule three, we must see the prank in order for it to count. Those are the only two I can think of." Draco cheered, grinning.  
  
"This is going to rock!" Emily grinned, planning her own set of pranks. "We have teacher approval for the pranks. This place is awesome!"  
  
  
  
Monday morning, after Care of Magical creatures, Harry and Draco stood right next to the exit for the lab, waiting to see what had happened. Sure enough, the fifth year Gryffindor and Slytherin students left close to tears, thie hair dyed the opposite house colors. Slytherins had gold and scarlet locks, while Gryffindors had green and silver. to make matters even more interesting, the Slytherin robes said, in big bold letters, 'Gryffindor's Bitch' while, on the Gryffindores, it said, 'Slytherin's Bitch'. Harry and Draco chuckeld as they walked into the Lab, startling their favorite Professor and their soon to be younger sister. Ginny had allowed herself to be a victim of the prank as well, in order to deflect suspicion from her classmates.  
  
"Gin you look good in green and silver," Draco smirked, making their presence known.  
  
Ginny jumped, but grinned in return. "Thanks. I think it goes so well with my robes, don't you think?" She twirled prettily, the words flashing green and silver in the light.  
  
Harry and Draco clapped and whistled. "Sweet, Gin. I swear, you made EVERYONE cry! It was so cool!" Harry exclaimed, grinning.  
  
"Now, I believe you two are next, followed by Blaise, Seamus, then Neville, Emily, Eric, and finally Luna.I suggest you get going." Severus shooed them out of the Lab and they went to lunch.  
  
  
  
Over the next several days, there erputed a prank war like had never been seen before in the history of Hogwarts Each prank escalated from the previous, until they were completely off the wall.  
  
Draco was next after Ginny. For his prank, he dosed Professor McGonnagal, in cat form, with enough catnip to intoxicate a whole castleful of cats. She spent the next fourteen hours completely stoned, giggling her way through classes, giving Outstandings right and left, and even skipping the first year class completely to go chase Doxies in her kitty cat form. During luch that day, she walked up to Professor Flitwick, kissed him flush on the lips and asked him to call her 'Minnie'. Once she came off of the narcotic, however, she spent the next week trying to track down who had done such a thing to her. Draco spent the next week or two trying to remain as inconspicicous as possible, as to not incur her wrath.  
  
Harry went next Thursday morning in Potions. He enchanted all the cauldrons in the Potions lab to walk around and escape their respective students, with the provision that in another student tried to touch or put something in a cauldron that wasn't theirs; it would have a multitude of curses. Severus watched him and laughed, imagining the reactions and what would ensue.  
  
The reactions were even better than he had imagined. All day long, students chased their cauldrons, which skittered away from them on long, spindly legs, or touched the wrong cauldrons, which resulted in four cases of boils, three cases of skin changing color, seven cases of hair removal, and ten cases of the person smelling like a skunk, two invisibilities, and twelve people winding up as the Squid's play toys.  
  
Friday, before anyone else was awake, Emily and Eric tag teamed to make an Olympic sized swimming pool in the Great Hall, complete with Jacuzzi and a waterslide where the teacher's table should have been. A waterfall cascaded down the wall where the Ravenclaw banner had hung, and vines and exotic plants climbed the walls, creating a jungle around the pool. They charmed the steps to create a slide whenever they were tread upon, forcing people to sample the water. When the students walked into the Hall for breakfast that morning, they slid into the pool feet first, and ate breakfast while swimming under waterfalls. Severus just lounged in the Jacuzzi in a pair of swim trunks with Lily, James and Remus, enjoying this prank fully.  
  
Saturday morning, Luna decided to have some fun. She transfigured several inanimate objects into what she thought Wafflefooted Frogpikes, Horned Crumplesnaps, Icy Sanddragons, Scarlet Tentacled Flobberworms and various other undiscovered creatures looked like and set them free around the castle. Unfortunately, she failed to inform Professor Snape what her prank would be.  
  
Severus awoke Saturday around eight o'clock to an intensely cold weight on his chest. His eyes snapped open. "AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGH!!!!!" he screamed, gazing into a pair of cold, reptilian ebony eyes. He sat up, gasping as the icy cold was transferred to his lap. Cringing, he shoved the thing off his crotch and stared at it. The icy, miniature, wingless dragon stared at him haughtily before slithering out of his quarters. Startled, he followed it out of his quarters, not noticing that he was walking around the hallway in only his boxers. He stepped into the main Dungeon and was promptly rum over by a flaming red, gigantic flobberworm with tentacles. He lay on the floor, screaming. His screams were abruptly cut off as he was licked across the face by a winged Doberman with five heads and seven legs. "WHAT THE FUCK????" he yelled.  
  
"Oh, there you are, Professor Snape! Do you like my prank?" Luna asked cheerfully, scratching the dog on one of its multiple heads. Professor Snape stared at her and promptly passed out.  
  
  
  
Sunday morning, Severus awoke very early, something compelling him to get out of bed. _What the hell...._ he wondered, half awake, as his feet carried him to the Potions Lab. He strode quickly through the door and stopped, remembering. _Oh yeah... TODAY I LINK OUR MINDS!!!!!! _he yelled, startling every other telepath in the castle into wakefulness. He felt the questions aimed toward him and he impatiently batted them away, assuring them they could go back to sleep.  
  
He grabbed the finally ready Linking potion and the telepathy boosting potion and eyed them before taking first the boosting potion. His vision went black as his consciousness flew from his body and out into the room. He could feel his mind expand, until he could feel everyone in the whole world, and then in the galaxy, and finally, he could feel every person in the Universe, dimensional barriers not withstanding his strength._ Oh... my GOD...._ he thought, reveling in the power and the knowledge. Is this what being God feels like? he wondered giddily.  
  
He could suddenly feel an omniscient, timeless presence enveloping him, filling him with warmth, love and security, so full he nearly burst. _MY SON, MY SON, YOU MUST PULL YOURSELF BACK TO YOUR PHYSICAL BODY AND TAKE THE OTHER POTION,_ a beautiful voice spoke, thundering, powerful, and so full of love he reeled from it. _GO BACK NOW, MY SON. YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN HELP MY DAUGHTER. GO HELP LAUREL.  
_  
_Laurel... Thank you, Mother,_ Severus thought, slowly coming back to his body. Once he could see again, he grabbed the other bottle, already searching for Laurel's mind. He found it and connected with her. Bliss, he thought, feeling completely grounded and at peace.  
  
He downed the bottle with a long gulp.  
  
She fell down and scraped her knee, crying at the pain, and gasping as the cut glowed briefly and vanished, along with the blood.  
  
He cringed as his father came home, drunk yet again, and knew without a shadow of a doubt that the only way to escape the punishment was if his father died.  
  
"Freak! Loser!" the taunts came again and again after she made the chairs move and people fell down, expecting the chair to be there. She didn't know how she did that without her wand.  
  
Thoughts pushed against his mind, driving him insane. Go away, just go away! he yelled, curling into a ball, trying to escape the bombardment, terrified that he would lose himself in the process.  
  
She gently kissed Sam on the lips, enjoying the feeling, but knowing that he was not the one for her. Still, a kiss is a kiss, right? She pushed the feeling of slight wrongness to the back of her mind and concentrated on having fun.  
  
He played with his father's potion's set, enthralled by the way the ingredients mixed together just so. A shadow loomed over the cauldron and he cringed, expecting a beating. What he got was, "Well done, my son. I am proud of you," and a pat on the head.  
  
She gasped, feeling her soul mate's mind for the first time, while sitting on a computer typing her paper. _So warm, like velvet,_ was her first thought, then the agony of what caused him to lash out with his mind caught up with her. She curled on the floor, screaming, hands clamped to her ears, trying to comfort him, help him, and do anything to stop his pain.  
  
He hung by his wrists from manacles set into the wall of Riddle Manor, naked, his bare back facing outwards, hissing as the whip descended on his bare skin over and over again. He screamed as he felt knives slice into his back, flaying open his skin. The knives stopped and he relaxed, feeling as if his back was on fire. _Maybe the worst is over,_ he thought hopefully. No suck luck. A voice spoke in his ear, softly, teasingly, "So you want to be a Death Eater?" _Oh shit... _he thought in terror as something- a hand- caressed his backside. _HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_ he screamed mentally, reaching out for someone, anyone as he was spread, like a starfish, against the wall. He completely lost it, escaping from his body as waves of agony shot up his spine, screaming the entire time. In the distance, he could feel someone, someone who felt like home, a completion to himself, and he desperately reached for that mind, begging for that person to help him, to save him, to take away the pain.  
  
A cold voice slammed into her head, taking her over completely. _Come to me, little one,_ it caressed her with icy tendrils and she could only obey, so strong was his will. On wooden legs she numbly came to him and he was horrible. She felt tears prick her eyes as she stared the monster in the face, unable to tear away her gaze. _You are mine, pet,_ the monster spoke and, in that instant, she was lost.  
  
The memories came, faster and faster, nothing held back, everything shared: wants, needs, fears, past sins. In the sharing came acceptance and acceptance led to forgiveness and forgiveness led to absolute, unconditional love. Severus leaned against the wall, tears streaming down his face as their minds separated enough for the two of them to remain separate identities, yet always touching, always together.  
  
Laurel sank back against the stone wall; her eyes squeezed shut, everything she had wanted from the time she had first felt Severus coming true. _You'll get me out of here, love. I have faith in you,_ she thought across the dimension.  
  
Severus half lay over a desk, tears drying unheeded on his face. _You'll get me out of here, love. I have faith in you,_ resounded through his mind, starting tears anew.  
  
_ Don't worry, love, everything will be fine, I promise. We're coming._ Severus straightened up and, without a backwards glance, strode from the Potions Lab and back to his quarters to get ready for the day.  
  
  
  
A/N: This has been a complete conglomeration of both my and my sister's writing talents and confused ideas. I make no apologies as the parts that she typed are hil-fucking-arious. She left this at the end of the section of her input, the random insaneness about 2 pages into the chapter, and I decided to leave it so you could enjoy her depraved little mind as much as I do. TATA!!!  
  
B/N: Hiya Laur-Laur! This is just some crappity-crap that I put in 'cuz I was bored out of my mind. Allz you gotz ta do iz highlite and DELETE after you are done being pissed at me for touching The Greatest Fanfic In The Entire Universe. Yes, I was actually planning to put in some of the evil little smut ideas that are floating around in my head, 'cuz, between you and me, if I don't get rid of them soon, THEY WILL CONSUME ME! I WILL BE OBSESSED WITH SMUT AND YOU WILL NO LONGER HAVE A WONDERFUL, BEAUTIFUL, BESTEST-BETA-PERSON-IN THE-WORLD! WAAAAAAAAHHH! Sniffle, well, g2g, need to go take a shower 'cuz (discretely smells self) I REEK! Love&Kisses: XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX! Bye!  
  
B/N: Oooooh, do you know how evil you are?! Damn you! Damn you to Hell for all eternity! WHY in God's name would leave that in there?! What part of "between you and me" did you not understand?! Now everybody knows that I am obsessed with smut! What if somebody from my SCHOOL is reading this?! Oh, the humiliation and the pain and the- oh well, they all think I'm some kind of crack-whore already, so, what's a little more negative publicity. Oh! And I was only smelly 'cuz I had just gone to the gym for my workout (which pretty much consists of pretending that I know what I am doing on the machines while secretly watching all the hot Navy guys sweat! Sweeet!) Well, ahem anyways, or, it would be anyway, not anyways, 'cuz that is improper English..... Damnit! I'm supposed to be on Vaca! Get out of my head, God-forsaken-grammar! ......grumble..............D'oh!... breakfast awaits! TATA!!!  
  
A/N: see what I have to put up with? Isn't she awesome? Well that's all she wrote and you know the drill. Yes, I have come to love the reviews, so keep them up! 


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: well, thanks for the continued support, everyone! Oh, and my sister and I had fun with this chapter.... whatever, just read it.  
  
Chapter 23  
  
Severus stood under the running water, closed his eyes and concentrated on just being with his soul mate. _Are you all right, Laurel?_ he asked, feeling sudden discontent radiating from her mind.  
  
_Oh fine, but - hang on_, she rearranged herself in his consciousness until she was looking through his eyes. _I want to see what you look like, that's all._ Severus groaned mentally, feeling her take control of his motor functions, turning him this way and that. _Oh bugger, _she said,_ can't get a good view_. Severus's eyes widened as she conjured a full length mirror and placed it on the shower wall, but he didn't do anything to stop her.  
  
_Nice, nice_, she thought appreciatively. Severus grinned shyly and blushed at her frank approval of his physique.  
  
_Laurel... _he trailed off, suddenly unsure of himself. _No one's ever been this openly attracted to me, and I don't quite how to react.  
  
_ _ I can help with that... _she teased, grinning mentally. _Stand at attention, soldier!  
_  
_WHAT???_ He yelped, automatically snapping to attention.  
  
_Not like that..._ she whispered suggestively.  
  
_Oh. _Severus's mouth dropped open as he did 'ahem' stand to attention. _Are you sure you're all right with pursuing this?_ he asked, confused and unsure.  
  
_You're my soul mate. I love you. I trust you. You won't hurt me,_ she said simply.  
  
Severus gasped as she took control of his hands. _I wanna wash your hair,_ she said petulantly, sounding like a six year old. Severus grinned as she expertly used his hands to lather his silky locks, completely removing the Potions residue, leaving them shiny and soft.  
  
_ Not fair. You aren't in the shower so I can't do this for you, _Severus grumped, enjoying the ministrations of his soul mate.  
  
_You can pay me back when you come to rescue me,_ she said suggestively, sending visuals of what she REALLY wanted to be doing with that shampoo.  
  
Severus gasped, resting his forehead on the tiles as his knees buckled from the pure, unadulterated lust shooting through his veins. _Laurel, we can't. This isn't right, you've been hurt and I don't want to hurt you,_ he thought desperately, trying to not give into the sensations she was putting him through.  
  
_You weren't listening to me! I told you, I love you and I trust you. You aren't going to hurt me. Now let me have my fun! _she begged, using her telekinetic powers to run phantom hands up and down Severus's torso, and up his neck and into his hair. He moaned quietly, his rational mind taking a vacation in lieu of his second brain taking complete control.  
  
_ Oh hell, why not,_ he moaned mentally, hearing Laurel chuckle. He closed his eyes, and his head tipped back as the phantom hands continued teasing, traveling up and down his body, missing the important parts but still managing to enflame his nerve endings even more. "Oh my... god...." he gasped.  
  
The sound of the door to his bathroom opening had him whipping around, grateful that the shower was completely steamed up. "Who is it?" he yelled, furious. _Damn it!!!!_ He mentally snapped as Laurel continued teasing him. _Oh hell,_ he moaned mentally as her phantom hands finally found his erection, sending him almost over the edge.  
  
_ Tell whoever it is to leave!_ Laurel demanded, irritated.  
  
Lily poked her head in. "Are you all right, bro?" she asked, her eyes widening at the silhouette of his body shuddering against the glass.  
  
"Laurel... potions... BONDED, TELEKINETIC, GET OUT!!!" he yelled, sagging against the glass.  
  
Her mouth formed an 'oh' of surprise. "Oops, I'll be back later," she said, beating a hasty retreat.  
  
Laurel laughed in his mind, a rich velvety sound. He shivered as the phantoms continued to caress him. Half a minute later, he fell heavily against the wall, gasping heavily and completely spent. _More? _she asked teasingly.  
  
_Oh GOD, _he thought, gasping for breath. _As much as I'd love to, I think we have to explain things to my sister.  
_  
Hands caressed him up and down his back, guiding him out of the shower and over to the towel rack. _Poor Severus,_ Laurel floated a towel off of the wrack and wrapped it snugly around his waist, affectionately patting his backside. _Go; go explain things to your sister. I'm sure she already understands, though.  
_  
Severus mentally hugged his soul mate, for an instant looking through her eyes to the room beyond. _I want you out of there, love. I'm working on a way to get you out, all of us are._ She hugged him in return and they remained like that for several minutes, just enjoying the feeling of closeness.  
  
As they pulled out of the embrace, he felt her mentally stiffen. _What? _he asked sharply, worried.  
  
_Oh no.... he's here_, she moaned, causing him to jerk and tense, his mind racing to find a way to get Laurel out of danger.  
  
_Sev, you have to distance yourself from me. There's no way I'm letting you get hurt too,_ Laurel thought desperately, trying to push Severus out of her mind, with little success.  
  
Severus held firm, refusing to budge an inch. _I'm staying, Laurel. For better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health and all that stuff. We're in this together,_ he said grimly, focusing his energy to bolster his mate's strength. _We're gonna kick his ass for what he's trying to do.  
_  
Laurel lay on the stone floor, tears of happiness rolling down her face. _You really mean that, don't you, _she thought in amazement.  
  
Severus watched as Clautius stared down at her- them, he thought determinedly. This was going to affect him as if he were being raped right alongside his mate. He watched as the monster sneered, towering over them.  
  
"Really, pet, I thought you'd given up on tears a long time ago. No one's coming for you, or they would have rescued you by now. Give it up and come to me willingly," Clautius purred, sending waves of terror through Laurel's mind.  
  
_ It's all right, Love, I'm here. Right with you, right beside you. I'm not going anywhere,_ Severus cradled her consciousness with his own, giving her comfort and solace where previously there had been none.  
  
Laurel, with Severus's strength, stared defiantly into the eyes of her captor. "You bastard," she hissed, eyes narrowing to slits. "They will come for me and they will destroy you. Mark my words, Clautius; you will know how it feels to be someone's bitch before this is all over."  
  
Clautius's eyes widened as she spoke, and quickly narrowed. "You will submit to me, bitch," he hissed back at her, "or you'll be a demon toy like you were last week."  
  
Laurel paled but held firm. "Never willingly, you sick fuck," she ground out, terror radiating off of her in waves.  
  
_He's still been doing that? _Severus thought, sickened.  
  
Laurel nodded slightly, both of their minds working on overdrive._ How am I going to avoid this?_ she asked frantically. _If he tries to link with me, he'll have access to you.  
  
_ _Let him come. I'll kill him!_ Severus snarled vehemently, waves of protectiveness surrounding his soul mate.  
  
Clautius towered over her and, in one smooth motion, knelt over her, reaching his mind out to shatter her shields. Severus took the golden opportunity to kick the monster square in the testicles- again. Clautius's face turned a sickly shade of green and his breath whooshed out of him. He fell backwards, lying in the fetal position, his hands clutching his crotch.  
  
"Oh, you- you little bitch," he ground out through a clenched jaw. "You're going to pay dearly for that one."  
  
Laurel and Severus watched as he slowly straightened his face still pale. Unsteadily, he reached his mind and hand out to Laurel's face. Instantly, her shields, reinforced by Severus's impenetrable shields, locked into place. Clautius, confused, stared at her. "You've grown in power," he demanded. "How? I will find the answer!"  
  
They felt him gather all his strength and, like a javelin, hurl towards their shields. Severus screamed as the pure energy slammed into their barriers, the shields miraculously holding. Laurel shuddered from the effort, her powers already taxed to the limit. Severus gritted his teeth and threw more of his powers into their shields, using all of his reserve energy to keep the monster at bay. It wasn't enough. The shields grew steadily weaker as Clautius slammed his powers into them over and over.  
  
With a roar of triumph, Clautius ripped into Laurel's mind, reveling in the newfound power. He stopped short, suddenly aware of another presence. _Who are you?_ he demanded, savagely ripping into Severus's mind for answers.  
  
_Her soul mate, you sick fuck! _was Severus's only warning to the monster as he slammed full force into Clautius's consciousness, ripping, shredding, causing as much damage as possible and forcing Clautius to backpedal swiftly out of Laurel's mind before losing himself completely.  
  
Severus grabbed a hold of Laurel's telekinesis and slammed the reeling Evil Personified into and through the nearest stone wall. He quickly bolstered his soul mate, feeling for the first time afraid that he was outmatched. _Sev, call the others. Get help!_ Laurel urged him.  
  
Agreeing with her, he mentally reached out for his sister, brother in law, nephew, Godson, and anyone who could hear him. _HELP!!!!!!!!_ he screamed, feeling everyone in the castle respond. Dimly, he felt Alanna, Xander, James, Ginny, Lily, Draco, Harry, Gaila, Olivia, Raphael, Michael, Rowan, Gabrielle, Damien, Nicholai, Salazar and Godric Apparate right behind him and instantly link deeply into his mind.  
  
_ Thanks,_ he gasped, feeling Clautius coming for a second round.  
  
_Don't thank us yet,_ Alanna warned. _Even all of us combined aren't enough to completely destroy him, just hurt him a bit._ Severus gaped as the awesome, nearly infinite power ripped through him and poured into Laurel just as Clautius rammed again into her mind.  
  
_ The FUCK???_ They heard his scream, his face contorting with rage. _ALANNA, YOU WHORE!!!!_ He howled, and shot out his hands. Energy radiated from him, the castle shaking to its very foundation, feeling the planet almost come apart at the seams. And still, the power continued to grow, funneling around his body, turning the air into a maelstrom of energy and evil.  
  
_How powerful is he????_ He gasped in wonder, feeling, for the first time; Clautius completely draw upon his full power, the entire Universe shuddering with the force he commanded. They watched, terrified, as Clautius's body disappeared, replaced by a well of darkness  
  
_More powerful than all of us combined,_ Xander told him grimly as they merged their consciousnesses into one unified fighting force. Laurel's body convulsed and the entire Universe again shuddered, her body disappearing into a blaze of sparkling white. They threw the entirety of their powers straight at Clautius, blasting him through seven stone walls and completely out of the castle.  
  
They shot the same force directly at the manacle around Laurel's neck. It glowed for a second and then went back to the way it was. Again, they shot a laser force at the manacle, with the same nonexistent result. _OH SHIT, _they thought, aware that Clautius was coming back, and was incredibly pissed off.  
  
Satan shot through the person sized hole in the wall, his face the only thing left visible in the inky darkness. His eyes were scarlet and ebony slits barely visible on his face, and the air crackled with electricity. He levitated in front of Laurel, fury plain in his expression. "You will pay for this, Alanna. You will pay for bringing them against me, you bitch. You see what I've done to my pet? You are next. I'm waiting for you," he laughed, a bone chilling sound that shook each of them to the core.  
  
"SHE'S NOT YOUR PET!!!!!!" they screamed as one, the booming thunder rolling from Laurel's mouth. Clautius continued to laugh.  
  
"And how do you plan on keeping her from me?" he asked, sneering. "You can't stay with her forever and I'll be waiting for when you tire of protecting her."  
  
Severus disengaged his mind from the unison and Apparated to the Potions Lab, where he had twenty bottles of the energy strengthening potion sitting in the storeroom, all perfect batches Harry and Ginny had brewed the day his nephew had tried to kill himself. He quickly gathered them into a bag and Apparated back, distributing them to everyone in the room. He downed his, feeling his powers quadruple, an incredible rush filling him.  
  
Laurel just lay there, Clautius in front of her, and felt everyone in her mind suddenly become infinitely more powerful. What the... she wondered. Clautius, feeling their powers disband, grinned manically, looming closer to his captive.  
  
A glowing white barrier slowly solidified between the flabbergasted Clautius and Laurel, completely sealing Laurel inside an impenetrable bubble. Vaguely, the rejoined demigods could feel Clautius throwing first his powers, and then, in desperation, bodily hurling himself against the shield.  
  
_ You all are brilliant!_ Laurel praised her siblings as she felt Clautius's fury through the shield. _Thank you all!!!!  
  
_ _Thank your soul mate and Harry here,_ Draco told her calmly. _It was Harry's invention and Severus's practical application that was the true genius. We just shut up and drank the bottles. Speaking of which, Sev, how long does this last?  
_  
_The shield should stay indefinitely, or until we take it down. The potion should last for - Harry, what's the strength again?_ Severus asked his nephew.  
  
_This one lasts a week, Uncle Sev, but since we used so much power, I think it'll wear off much sooner, _Harry told him, furrowing his brow.  
  
_ How soon?_ Gaila and Olivia asked in unison, giggling.  
  
_Probably several hours tops. Why?_ Harry asked, suspicious.  
  
_ANIME!!!!!!! MANGA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_ The two of them screamed.  
  
Laurel laughed._ Hey, could you get me Fallen and Megatokyo? I LOVE those_!  
  
_ Sure, Laurel!_ they chirped, before Apparating away, giggling madly. _On to JAPAN!!!!!!!! There has to be an ANIME convention somewhere!!!!  
_  
Uh oh, Raphael and Michael thought in unison. _You just HAD to turn them into super goddesses didn't you? _they moaned, Apparating after their soul mates, ready to do damage control.  
  
Everyone completely separated, floating around in Laurel's head. Xander was wrapped around Alanna, comforting his trembling soul mate. _Lana, it's all right. I swear, he's not going to get you.  
_  
_I swear, Xander, it's because of-_ she noticed that everyone was listening and quickly shielded the rest of their conversation. Laurel and Severus wrapped around each other, drawing comfort from each other's presence. Lily and James held Draco, Ginny and Harry, assuring them that they were all right and no one was hurt. Rowan and Gabrielle sat quietly with Salazar, Godric, Nicholai and Damien, waiting for everyone else to relax and deal with what happened.  
  
Alanna and Xander finally stopped shielding long enough for her to tell them that she was going to go have a talk with her children and Apparated out of Severus's quarters.  
  
_What the hell does that mean? _Harry asked. No one could give him an answer.  
  
Severus turned to Lily, talking to her privately._ I guess I should at least try to explain what you walked in on, _he muttered, physically blushing.  
  
Lily laughed. _Don't worry about it, Sev. I know EXACTLY what I walked in on. Phantom hands, right?_ Severus nodded dumbly, incredibly embarrassed. _I did the same to James once I figured out how to use telekinesis right after we graduated.  
  
_ Severus looked pained. _I SO did not need to hear that,_ he muttered, gulping.  
  
_Well, you started this conversation, not me, _Lily reminded him.  
  
Severus groaned. _Yes, yes, I know! Now, what are we doing for the rest of the day?  
  
_ His face turned beet red as Laurel suggested _We could christen all the usual places..._ she trailed off, smirking at his discomfort.  
  
_Well, it IS a Sunday and I don't have classes, so..._ Severus trailed off. _I would rather christen those places with you physically present.  
_  
Laurel and he laughed, ignoring the shocked and faintly disgusted expressions on the faces around him, and left his rooms.  
  
  
  
Monday, Blaise and Seamus decided to complete their prank, which took a hell of a lot of ingenuity, and almost twelve hours to complete. They switched, in the dead of night, the Dorms: Paintings, passwords, trunks, beds, sleeping people. Everything. Slytherin's wall was put in front of Ravenclaw's dorms with Hufflepuff's password, housed by Hufflepuffs. Gryffindor received Ravenclaw's portrait, Ravenclaw's password and the Slytherin students. Hufflepuff received Gryffindor's painting, Gryffindor's Password, and Ravenclaw students. Ravenclaw's dorms received Hufflepuff's painting, Slytherin's password, and the Gryffindor students. Everyone woke up confused, and several students threatened to kill whoever was responsible for the prank. Needless to day, Blaise and Seamus kept a low profile after that.  
  
The next Tuesday, Harry stayed after his Wandless and Elemental class to talk to Xander. He groaned mentally, dreading the conversation he had to have with the older demigod. _It's either you or Alanna and I'm sure as hell not going to my parents, so you're elected, _he told Xander as soon as everyone but Draco had left. Draco stood against the wall, as interested in this conversation as his soul mate.  
  
Xander stood up, staring at him in surprise. _What, Harry? Don't tell me you're already pregnant,_ he exclaimed. Draco fell over with a crash.  
  
_What???? NO!!! _Harry yelled, his face screwing up in horror. _Hell no!!! Is that even possible?_ he added as an afterthought.  
  
Xander sighed. _I'm glad you're not pregnant and yes, it is possible, although I don't recommend it. Now that we've ruled out reproducing, what's your question?_ he asked, sitting down on an easy chair.  
  
Harry and Draco sat down as well. _Um, it's really embarrassing so I'll just get it out. Seamus and Blaise bonded and-  
_  
Good for them, Xander interrupted. _They do know they'll be together for all eternity, right? Do they need to talk to someone?  
  
No, it's not about them!_ Harry ran his hands through his hair, destroying the spikes._They set off a shockwave from the energy of bonding, and it was that really big earthquake after the last Quidditch game. We are billions of times more powerful than they are and they let off a lot of energy. If we bond, will we blow up a planet?  
_  
Xander stared at him, his face paling. _I have no idea, Harry. That's really an interesting question, and I actually think your parents would be better to talk to. Alanna and I were created already bonded, so we didn't actually have to complete anything. Your parents, on the other hand, had to go through exactly what you two now have to experience.  
_  
Harry raised an eyebrow. _I'm not asking my parents about their sex life. Not way in hell,_ he snapped, crossing his arms across his chest.  
  
Draco laughed out loud, almost falling off his chair in the process. _I'd like front row seats to that,_ he chortled.  
  
Oh, you'd be ringside, _Draco, considering you're the other half of what we need to do,_ Harry thought, amused. Draco turned white, contemplating what Lily would do to him.  
  
_Could you talk to them?_ Harry asked Xander quietly.  
  
Xander nodded, grinning. _Sure, Harry, I'll get information for you. Tell you what, give me a week and then I'll find you with what I've figured out, all right? _Harry nodded, still incredibly embarrassed.  
  
_ Hey, don't be embarrassed, Harry. We did tell you we'd teach you about your powers and this is a part of it. I'm pretty sure we can find a way for a planet- or a galaxy- not to explode when you two bond.  
  
_ Harry and Draco quickly left the Room of Requirement. _You can wait a week, right?_ Draco asked Harry facetiously. Harry just rolled his eyes and elbowed his soul mate in the ribs.  
  
"OW! Prat!" Draco yelled, pouting as he rubbed his ribs. 'That hurt, you know."  
  
"I'm so sorry, Drake," Harry grinned, then added silently, Would you like me to kiss it and make it better?  
  
_Well, as pleasant as I'm sure that would prove to be, we are going to need to wait a week-  
  
Are you sure you can keep your hands to yourself for that long? _Harry all but purred in Draco's ear. _Ooh, that's one hell of a mental image._ Harry smirked as Draco thought of when he had kept his hands to (and all over) himself after their last dream incident.  
  
_Damn treacherous brain,_ Draco thought to himself. _Are you trying to give me a run for my money, or something Harry?  
  
_ Harry looked at him with an innocently confused expression.  
  
Draco snorted, _And I thought I was supposed to be the horny one.  
_  
Harry snickered and grabbed Draco's hand, Apparating them straight to the Chamber of Secrets. _Want to make some of those dreams become reality?_ he asked in all seriousness.  
  
Draco gaped at him, shocked. _I didn't expect you to- Harry are you sure about this? I don't want to bring up any painful memories or anything.  
_  
Instead of replying, Harry gently cupped Draco's face and drew him into the sweetest kiss Draco had ever felt in his life. _Does this answer your question? We aren't going to bond, because that's too dangerous, why we can't have a little fun?_ he asked silently.  
  
Draco just softly moaned and ran his fingers through Harry's hair, quickly removing the spiking spells and making it grow to hang around his shoulder blades. _Can I give you wings_? He asked, his mental voice hazy with lust.  
  
Harry snickered silently, breaking the kiss. He finally doubled over, howling with laughter. He sat down, hard, on the couch strategically behind him and rocked back and forth, tears of mirth rolling down his face. _WINGS????  
_  
Draco stared at him, fuming. _You dick_. He sat down next to Harry, scowling. _You absolute dick. You start kissing me and then you laugh at me. I have a fragile ego, Harry, and I think you just shattered it.  
_  
Harry sat up and flung himself on his soul mate, effectively stopping all thought processes as he nibbled and licked Draco's lips, causing Draco's mouth to open in a silent moan. Harry quickly took advantage of this to deepen the kiss, sliding his tongue into his soul mate's mouth, playing and teasing, listening with extreme satisfaction to the soft sighs coming from Draco.  
  
They finally broke the kiss, coming up for air. Harry rested his forehead against Draco's. He sat up quickly and ripped off his shirt. _You can give me wings only if I can give you a pair as well,_ he said, his eyes dancing with merriment.  
  
Draco grinned evilly, staring at Harry's bare, toned chest and ridged, toned abdomen. _You've got yourself a deal_. With that, Draco lunged at Harry, flipping him easily onto his washboard stomach. Draco's eyes hungrily traveled up and down the vision before him, taking in the broad shoulders and lean neck. He suddenly felt an irresistible urge, and, throwing all rational sense to the wind, he leaned down and traced the ridges of Harry's spine with his tongue.  
  
Harry groaned under him, shivering from head to toe as Draco straddled his lower back, pressing his hands to either side of Harry's spine next to his scapulas. His face furrowing in concentration, Draco gently caressed the skin under his hands, feeling the bones shift and jut out, extending into an enormous, naked framework underneath his fingers. He kept pushing his magic into his soul mate, and those incredible, iridescent black feathers sprouted from the new appendages, tickling his hands and, when he gently buried his face into the silky softness, his nose. He stroked the feathers lovingly, his eyes still hungry.  
  
Harry slowly stretched, his wings furling and expanding. He arched his back, all but purring at the sensations Draco was making him feel. He gently tumbled his soul mate off of him and straddled the other boy's stomach. A deal is a deal, he announced, pulling Draco's shirt quickly over his head. He quickly leaned down, fisting his fingers through Draco's chin length platinum and cobalt hair, his eyes hazing with desire. He quickly kissed Draco, sliding his tongue into his soul mate's mouth, and, with a sigh, flipped him over.  
  
Draco lay on his stomach limply, feeling Harry press his magic into his skin. He felt the strange sensation of his bones shifting and elongating, and saw, out of the corner of his eye, silver feathers with black tips erupt from his wings. _Damn, Draco, this is almost the sexiest thing I've ever seen,_ Harry thought in awe.  
  
_Almost?_ Draco asked, slightly hurt.  
  
_It's only beaten by that time I saw you just out of the shower, in the little black towel,_ Harry thought, showing Draco exactly what he meant. _That one will forever be ingrained into my subconscious as the day I finally realized that you are perfection._ Draco grinned helplessly. Who knew that they both were hopeless romantics?  
  
_I wanna fly_, Draco pouted, his eyes shining with love.  
  
Harry and Draco joined hands and Apparated straight to the Quidditch Pitch. They gazed at each other and, with a push, launched themselves into the air, Draco quickly getting the hang of flying with twelve foot wings.  
  
_Wow,_ Draco thought, swooping over seven hundred feet in the air. _This is incredible!_ he yelled to his soul mate. All of a sudden Harry projected exactly what the sight of Draco, shirtless, with his silver and ebony wings, did to him. Draco gasped as a tidal wave on lust slammed into him. He immediately folded his wings and dove to Harry, stopping right in front of him. He reached out and pulled Harry into his embrace, kissing him firmly.  
  
_Do you think it's possible in midair?_ Draco asked, remembering his dream with sudden clarity.  
  
Harry grinned at him, sharing in remembering the dream. _I dunno, Draco, but I think we should try,_ he thought, his emerald eyes turning a forest green with lust. Draco's eyes turned to molten steel and they captured each other in a searing kiss. Tongues battling for dominance, Draco caressed Harry up and down his front, eliciting moans from the other boy. Not to be outdone, Harry grabbed Draco's ass firmly, pulling their erections together. Draco hissed, biting Harry lightly on the lip before trailing open mouthed kisses down his soul mate's neck.  
  
Unknown to the both of them, their powers had flared and formed a sphere of blinding light around them. The air pulsed with power as they continued, oblivious to the world around them. Lightning flashed and the earth shook violently and cracked open in several places directly below them. Several funnel clouds formed around them and whipped up the waters of the lake, the Atlantic Ocean, and the English Channel. The power quickly spread, until multiple earthquakes hit all over the planet. It seemed that the world was straining against itself, ready to come apart at the seams.  
  
Alanna raced out of the castle, her eyes shielded against the blinding light and wind. Frantically, she Apparated straight into the sphere of power. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?????" she screamed, scaring the shit, almost literally, out of Harry and Draco.  
  
"What's it look like? Having a bloody fucking tea party???" Draco snapped, holding onto Harry for support. Their hair was mussed and their skin flushed.  
  
"You do realize that the earth was about to explode???" she shrieked, furious. "You're the one who came to us for help, you knew and you almost took out what we're fighting to save!!!!"  
  
Harry and Draco stared at each other. "Oops," Harry said sheepishly, blushing furiously. Draco mirrored him, his face tomato red.  
  
Alanna stared at them. Sighing, she grabbed hold of their arms and Apparated straight back into the Great Hall, where Lily, James, Severus, Remus, and everyone else were waiting. Harry and Draco stood in front of them, their wings gone and fully clothed, staring at the other demigods and adults sullenly.  
  
"Harry, Draco, while I hate to put a damper on your relationship," Severus began neutrally, "you really have to be aware that what you did could have killed everyone on this planet. Please be more careful in the future."  
  
Harry and Draco stared at him silently, their mouths hanging open. _What did I miss?_ Harry asked silently to Draco, shocked.  
  
_That's what a sex marathon, even if it's only done telekinetically, does to you, _Draco sent back, grinning slightly.  
  
_Damn, he's relaxed,_ Harry thought, noticing that his mother's mouth had dropped open as she stared at her brother.  
  
_Yup.  
_  
"Severus, are you feeling all right?" Lily asked suspiciously.  
  
"Never better, Lils." Severus languidly strode from the semicircle and Apparated to his rooms.  
  
Everyone stared at the point where he had just been standing. "Is it just me, or did he seem really relaxed?" Xander asked, scratching his head.  
  
Olivia snorted, falling into a giggle fit. Gaila rolled her eyes at her and propped her in a standing position. "Livvers, would you stop it?" she asked, exasperated.  
  
Olivia tried to stand up, failing miserably. "Sorry, Gabbers, but it's just so funny!!!!" Gaila snickered and let Olivia sit down, hard, on the floor. They sat down together, giggling.  
  
Alanna just stared at them. "If you two can't see the severity of the situation, I suggest you leave," she muttered, glaring daggers at them.  
  
Michael moved to stand in front of Alanna, glaring at her. "Oh, they see the severity all right," he snapped, defending his soul mate.  
  
Raphael chimed in, trying not to laugh. "Yeah, they only want what normal, sixteen year old guys want- to get laid!!! Only, in their case, it means enough power to rip apart worlds!" He dissolved into laughter, Michael following suit. Everyone else, with the exception of Alanna, Xander, James, and Lily, collapsed into giggles.  
  
"Will you all either straighten up or leave?" Alanna groaned, about to start slamming her head into a brick wall at the absurdity of it all.  
  
Still laughing insanely, everyone but Lily, James, Alanna, and Xander Apparated for parts unknown. Harry and Draco, chuckling, quickly wilted under the glares of Harry's parents and the older demigods.  
  
Alanna crossed her arms, staring up at them, still making them feel about three inches tall. "You two knew it was a possibility that the energy of your bonding might have a horrible outcome, and you tried to do it anyway. I can't believe you two! Why did you even bother asking if you were going to go ahead and do it anyway?" she yelled, demanding an answer.  
  
Harry glared at her, running his hands through his still shoulder blade length hair. "For your information, we hadn't gone much past kissing when you so rudely interrupted us," he replied scathingly.  
  
James's mouth opened, and then shut again. "Dear God, that was all from kissing?" he asked, shaking his head. "You wiped out four major cities, including half of California and up the French coast, as well as cleaved through almost half the Earth in several places, just FROM BLOODY KISSING!!!!!" he yelled, on the verge of hysterical laughter.  
  
Lily sat down, her legs giving way. "I hadn't even realized. How the hell is this going to work? You are right, Alanna, they do need to bond, but we'd only be destroying this place. Does anyone have any ideas?" she asked helplessly, looking lost.  
  
Xander stretched. "Well, I did tell them to wait a week and I'd try to get answers for them, but obviously they can't listen," he grimaced, glaring at the two of them.  
  
Harry opened his mouth, but Draco beat him to it. "You don't realize it, so I'll spell it out for you. WE- WERE- JUST- KISSING!!!!! That's it!!! Blaise and Seamus didn't blow anything up until well, I'm not sure exactly when, but... it was a HELL of a lot further than KISSING!!!" he finished, still yelling angrily.  
  
Xander recoiled sharply, glaring at Harry and Draco. "You still killed a hell of a lot of people. This is OUR world, and you're fucking it up!!! We're responsible for everyone here!!!"  
  
Harry blushed, realizing finally how damn dangerous it was, but Draco refused to back down. "I swear, we didn't know! How are we supposed to have any kind of natural relationship if you won't even let me kiss him? What the bloody fuck is wrong with you people???"  
  
Alanna glared at him. "Well, if you could only control your hormones for a week, ONE WEEK, we could try to figure something out!!!"  
  
"Will you all shut up???" Harry snapped, finally losing control of his temper. Tables started to levitate around him, and the banners rippled. Draco stared at him, his eyes widening. Harry continued, his voice growing in strength and volume as he continued. "Why the fucking hell should we have to have a FUCKING time table in order for us to BLOODY FUCKING FUCK????? DO YOU EVEN HAVE A CLUE HOW EMBARRASSING THIS IS???" he screeched, the tables splintering. "I CAN'T BLOODY BOND WITH MY SOUL MATE WITHOUT YOU ASSHOLES INTERFERING!!! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HARD THIS IS CUZ YOU WERE BORN BONDED!!!!!! YOU ALL GET TO DO IT AND BE BONDED, WHY THE FUCK CAN'T WE?????" The ground rippled and bucked beneath their feet.  
  
Alanna, Xander, Draco, Lily and James threw a shield around the enraged demigod as his powers only continued to build with no intention of receding any time soon. Harry's eyes blazed emerald as did his hands, and he effectively ripped through the shield as if it were paper.  
  
Alanna, Lily, Draco, James and Xander, all reeling form the sheer force that had shredded their strongest shielding, stared at Harry with growing desperation. What do we do now?????  
  
Quickly Alanna Apparated them off- planet, at least temporarily keeping the earth's imminent destruction at bay for a few seconds. They stood in an environmental shield on the Moon, which promptly began to ripple, Harry's magic forcing its core to separate. Xander, we have to get him out of here, she thought desperately.  
  
Away from Earth or any other habituated planet, Lana. We have to get him into deep space, or somewhere else, Xander thought frantically. And WE have to get away from him as well. He could kill us with the force of his powers, and I think we'd be completely obliterated, soul and all.  
  
_ Let me handle this,_ Draco thought, grim determination in his voice.  
  
Lily and James stared at him in surprise. _Are you sure?_ they asked simultaneously.  
  
_He can't hurt me. Just point us in the direction of the nearest uninhabited planet, and we'll be fine,_ an inaudible 'I hope' added to the end. Grimly, Alanna gave him the location of Alpha Centauri B, and Draco grabbed hold of Harry, immediately Apparating before the Moon fell apart.  
  
They landed on a flat, desolate plain, bleak for miles in either direction. Draco released his hold on Harry and stepped back, erecting a shield around himself and conjuring a bowl of popcorn. He sat in midair, enjoying the show.  
  
Harry stood in the middle of the plain, his eyes an intense viridian. He stared ahead, unseeing, his hands spasming into fists. Already, the planet had begun to ripple, the surface cracking in places. He closed his eyes, screaming his frustrations to the empty, desolate world. Draco just sat still, cross legged in mid air about one hundred feet behind Harry.  
  
Boulders and chunks of earth rose into the air around Harry, before exploding into minute pieces of dust, crumbling like flour. More and more pieces, getting progressively larger by the second, filled the air. Draco ducked as a particularly large piece broke off of a boulder and slammed into his shields, bouncing him through the air. He forced himself to stop ricocheting off the other sections of the planet and return to visual distance of his soul mate. He watched, eyes wide and impressed, as Harry slowly demolished the entire planet by force of will alone. No spells were used, and he didn't even use his aura, with the exception of it being visible in his eyes and around his hands. An hour later, Harry sagged, spent and exhausted. Immediately, Draco pulled him into his aura as the now demolished planet's atmosphere disintegrated.  
  
Panting, Harry gazed at his soul mate with unreadable eyes. "Do you feel better now?" Draco asked simply.  
  
Harry nodded, closing his eyes and sagging against Draco's chest. Draco wrapped his arms around him and Apparated the both of them back to Hogwarts.  
  
  
  
During the rest of the week, Harry and Draco determinedly kept their hands off of each other, much to their own discomfort and frustration. They even took to sleeping in separate beds to reduce temptation and everything else. Needless to say, they were quite jumpy by the time Saturday rolled around, and were incredibly irritable.  
  
Harry strode to the shower, snarling under his breath. _Of all the fucking- GOD DAMN IT!!!!_ he snapped, tripping over a discarded towel. Draco poked his head into the bathroom.  
  
"What?" he asked, trying to keep from jumping Harry right then and there.  
  
"Stupid FUCKING towel!" Harry groused, kicking it across the room.  
  
Draco raised an eyebrow, silently laughing at the sight of Harry Potter, Boy Who FRIGGING Lived, Champion for the side of the Light, All Around Defeater of Bad Guys, taking on a towel, and LOSING. Five frustrated minutes later, Harry had stomped on the towel, cursing vividly.  
  
"LOSing much?" Eric asked, coming into the bathroom.  
  
"No, because that would imply that I've actually HAD sex," Harry snapped.  
  
Eric stared at him, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. "Oh," he managed, trying to find a way to escape the tirade he knew was coming.  
  
"But NOOOO, I CAN'T have sex, because I might blow up the FUCKING planet!!!!!" Harry yelled, drawing curious glances from the people sitting in the Common Room.  
  
"Harry, would you calm down?" Draco hissed, eyes darting around. "People are staring!"  
  
Harry immediately quieted, his face still a thundercloud of discontent. "This Fucking SUCKS, Draco!" he hissed angrily, keeping his voice quiet.  
  
"You think I don't know that? Come here. We aren't going to blow up the school with a simple hug," Draco grumbled, holding out his arms. Harry eagerly moved into the embrace, resting his forehead against Draco's forehead. They stared into each others' eyes for a long time, refusing to move even to go to Quidditch practice.  
  
Severus strode into the Dorms, looking for them. "HARRY! DRACO!" he snapped.  
  
They turned as one, still in each other's arms. "What?" they asked in unison.  
  
"Madam Hooch wants you at practice right away and she sent me to find you. I've been calling you mentally for almost ten minutes. Why haven't you answered?" Severus grabbed both of them by the arms, but they refused to budge.  
  
"We" Harry began  
  
"Aren't" Draco continued.  
  
"Going," they finished in unison.  
  
Severus stared at them. "What do you mean, not going?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.  
  
"We've been trying all week," Harry started talking.  
  
"And it isn't working," Draco finished.  
  
"We can't deal with this, being so close," Harry continued.  
  
"And not being able to complete our bond." Draco spoke, staring at Severus defiantly.  
  
"It's driving us nuts and we can't take it any more." They spoke as one again. Severus idly wondered if they did that simply to drive him insane, and whether or not it was on purpose.  
  
"As for not responding, we were talking mentally, and had our shields up so we wouldn't be bothered," Harry explained.  
  
"Fine, fine. I'll figure out something to say to Hooch about this. Oh, do you two have acceptable clothing for the Ball? It is in a week." Severus asked, trying to get rid of his headache.  
  
"No," Harry and Draco admitted.  
  
"Well, what do you plan on doing about that?" Severus asked.  
  
"Uncle Sev, do you have anything acceptable?" Harry asked, an idea forming.  
  
"I was planning on going shopping later on today, why?" he asked.  
  
"Draco, could we have Jacques come here? I know that everyone needs good robes and I have no problem picking up quite a bit of the tab," Harry said excitedly, his mind working on overdrive. I know Eric needs some robes, as do Neville and Seamus, Blaise loves clothes, and Emily and Luna could get some too, Oh yeah, Ginny and my parents don't have any...  
  
Draco smirked at him. "You do realize that Jacques is going to worship you for life, don't you?"  
  
Harry grimaced. "Don't they all already pretty much worship me already? Hmmm, maybe I'll make YOU pay for everything!"  
  
Draco stared at him incredulously. "I'll cover some of it, but not all. My parents would KILL me if I spent that much."  
  
"I thought you had pretty much unlimited spending," Harry said curiously.  
  
"I pretty much do, but spending several hundred thousand Galleons is a lot even for me. For you, it isn't."  
  
They Apparated straight to Severus's rooms to use the Floo. Harry tossed in a handful of Floo Powder, and stuck his head into the Wizarding Armani store in Knockturn Alley. "Jacques?" he called.  
  
He heard a shuffling, and Jacques waltzed into view. "Oh, Master Potter! How wonderful it is to see you again! What can I do for you?" he asked, his French accent thicker than ever.  
  
"Actually, Jacques, I have a business proposition for you. How would you like to outfit my friends, guardians and I for the Yule Ball in a week?"  
  
Jacques's mouth opened and closed several times before he found his voice. "How- how many people are we talking about, Master Harry?" he finally asked, thinking furiously.  
  
"Twenty two people. Can you have it ready by Friday if we measure today and if you come here?" Harry asked, after quickly counting everyone.  
  
Jacques's eyes sparkled. "Oh yes, Master Potter. I do love a challenge. My assistant and I will be over shortly. I will need people in groups of two, preferably the person and his or her date, so I know not to make anyone clash. How many women and how many men?" he asked, completely professional.  
  
"Well, that depends on Blaise," Harry said to himself.  
  
Jacques brightened. "Young Zambini is among the group? Excellent! Now, not counting Blaise, how many are there?"  
  
"Not counting Blaise, we have thirteen men and eight women."  
  
"Excellent, now how soon can you be ready?"  
  
Harry sat up and asked Severus. "Uncle Sev, how soon can we have everyone, two at a time, for fittings?"  
  
"I can call everyone immediately." Severus immediately sent out his mind. Hey, everyone, Harry's going to get us robes from Armani so get to my quarters with your dates so Jacques can measure and fit everyone! Remus, this does include you!  
  
He received a variety of responses, all positive and assuring him that they'd be there as soon as possible. "Tell Jacques we have people coming immediately."  
  
Harry shoved his head back into the fireplace. "We have everyone able to come now, Jacques."  
  
Jacques turned and spat rapid fire French to an unseen assistant. "Excellent, Master Potter, we will be there in ten minutes. We were just closing up anyway."  
  
Harry turned to Draco and Severus, Alanna, Xander, James, and Lily Apparating into the room behind them. "This is gonna be awesome," Harry told them, grinning. He received matching grins from everyone in the room. Turning, he stood up, and they eagerly waited for Jacques to make an entrance.  
  
  
  
A/N: Well, not much to say, really. I'm finishing this up right before I go to work, with a quick spell check and all. Hopefully, it'll be available for everyone to read sometime this afternoon if I upload it now before I go to work. Well, read and review! 


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: Dragenphly, would you quit predicting accurately what happens next?????? Damn, are you sure you ain't a frigging Seer??? NO ONE READ DRAGENPHLY'S REVIEW!!!!!! Oh, and Dragenphly, would you quit giving away the plotline?  
  
B/N: I agree! You should be careful or soon they will be dragging you off to Hogwarts to take over Trelawney's job... but is that necessarily a bad thing? Oh well, just watch what you say, you are ruining the element of SURPRISE!  
  
A/N: Lady Silverene, we do not work well under such horrible pressure, so I'm not writing any more... wait, I just finished another chapter. FUCK!  
  
B/N: Oooh, evil people who threaten us to write more, I am shaking. No really, I am, it's kinda cold in here. But you know, killing the author and beta = NO STORY!!!!!! Think about it.  
  
A/N: Athenakitty. Yes, yes, soon, and is he watching? EWWWWWW.  
  
B/N: Tsk, tsk. Dirty-minded people, thinking that the evil dude is perving on our heroes... what's up with that?!  
  
Chapter 24  
  
Jacques and a young attractive male (his assistant) came to Hogwarts in a flurry of excitement. Five hours and only twelve of the twenty two people needing measurements taken later, Harry was about to tear his hair out by the roots. "Jacques, about how long do you think this'll take?" Harry asked, exasperated, at around four in the afternoon.  
  
Jacques looked up from his notepad and quill. "About another four hours, Master Potter. Please, send in your parents. I am done with Misters Zambini and Finnegan." Blaise and Seamus hopped down from the tailor's stools with identical sighs of relief and ran from the room. Lily and James walked in confidently, heads held high.  
  
"Ah, Lord and Lady Potter. I was most displeased to hear of your demise, and the fact that you are standing in front of me seems to dispel any of those awful rumors." Jacques led the two of them to the stools and ordered his assistant to tend to Lily while he measured James.  
  
Forty minutes later, he finished with them, finally deciding on a design, cut and color that would compliment the both of them, while accommodating their personal taste and preference.  
  
Jacques brushed a hand across his forehead, getting a quick breath in between customers. *They will be so pleased and I'm going to make a fortune!!!* he thought excitedly. Harry muffled a snicker as he and Draco walked out with his parents.  
  
Exactly four hours and fifteen minutes later, Jacques called Harry, Draco, Severus, Alanna, and Remus into Severus's quarters. "Well, I have made the measurements and you have all picked out styles and colors. You will look wonderful, if I do say so myself. Now, whose bank account will I be charging these to?" he asked, bills in hand.  
  
Harry immediately held out his hand, but Severus, Alanna and Draco stopped him. "Jacques, I will be paying for my own robes," Severus stated.  
  
"I will pay for mine as well," Remus said. Jacques handed them their bills.  
  
Draco mulled it over. "I'll pay for my robes as well as Blaise's robes." Jacques handed him the two bills.  
  
Alanna took the bills, sorting through them. "Shotgun the demigods and demigoddesses with the exception of Lily and James." She handed the last seven to Harry. "These are for you, love."  
  
Harry took them quickly, scanning the bills. "What is an acceptable form of payment?" he asked, scratching his scar thoughtfully.  
  
"We generally just bill the accounts, so if you'd fill in your account number there at the bottom, I could just send the money order to Gringotts and they'd take care of it."  
  
Everyone filled in the required information at the bottoms of the slips then passed them back to Jacques. He thanked them profusely for their time and business, and with an order to his assistant, they Flooed back to their store.  
  
Harry collapsed against the couch, Draco quickly pulling him into an embrace. Idly, Harry toyed with the cobalt blue streaks framing his soul mate's face. "Is it always that insane?" he asked, sighing.  
  
Draco and Severus stared at each other, incredulous. "Was that insane?" Draco asked, confused. Harry shook his head wearily and lightly punched his shoulder. "Hey!" Draco protested, rubbing the offended shoulder with a pout.  
  
*I can't kiss it and make it better this time, love,* Harry thought sadly. Draco kept pouting. *You remember what happened last time, don't you?* Draco's pout turned into an evil grin.  
  
*Oh, I remember all right. That was when I gave you that incredibly large hickey on the side of your neck and- what do you know!* Draco pulled back the collar of Harry's silk shirt. *It's still there!*  
  
Severus stared at the large, purple mark on Harry's neck and grinned. "I have no wish to hear of how that got there," he said lazily, smirking at the sudden, fierce blush that swept across his nephew's face.  
  
"Um, Alanna? I don't mean to be rude, but I didn't know you had a bank account here at Gringotts." Harry turned around, the unasked question in his eyes.  
  
"Actually, we are wealthier than you, Harry. We have one bank account that we use when we come to Earth, and it has all of the money we have earned throughout the last thousand years or so. In fact, I was the one who set up my son Merlin's account. If Morgan Le Fay had ever bothered reproducing, her heirs would have had the same amount as well." Alanna studied her fingernails. "Do you have any more questions, Harry?" Harry shook his head mutely. "Good. It's almost time for dinner, so let's go!" With that, everyone exited the Dungeons and headed to the Great Hall, ready for food.  
  
  
  
On Sunday morning, Madam Trelawney decided to descend from her Tower and graced everyone with her presence during lunch. She sat, immediately to the right of Dumbledore, her beads and bracelets jangling in a dissonance of horrific proportions. Harry winced from the Slytherin table as she chatted and laughed, her creaky falsetto just adding to the din.  
  
Professor Trelawney finally looked up and realized that practically no one was sitting at their House tables any more. "Albus!" she shrieked. "What is going on? Bad times are ahead of us, Albus!" Severus and Remus rolled their eyes in unison at her outburst. "And you two! You instigated this!" she yelled, flinging her arm at the shocked teachers.  
  
Harry stood up, rolling his eyes. "Come on, Draco, Ginny, everyone. Let's eat elsewhere." They stood up, en masse, and headed down to the Kitchens for lunch and to get away from the batty woman's ramblings.  
  
  
  
Monday morning, Ginny had had enough. First, Professor McGonagall had cornered her in the hallway, asking her, with transparent politeness, when she and Harry would be returning to Gryffindor Tower where they belonged. After that, Professor Trelawney had pounced on her and read her palm- over her loud protests. Then, the woman had the gall to announce, quite publicly, that she would suffer the same fate as Harry- imminent death- if she didn't stop the foolishness and return to her Table and her Tower.  
  
She quickly and silently climbed the ladder into Trelawney's classroom, carrying a large cage covered with a blanket. Seeing that no one was around, she uncovered the cage, revealing small black imps with wings. "Come, my minions," she crooned softly, reveling in this new power of hers- to conjure these small black creatures, creatures loyal only to her and ready to do her bidding. "Come and fly for me," she whispered, unlatching the cage door. The five dozen imps streamed from the cage opening and hovered in front of her, awaiting their orders.  
  
"Now, this is what I want you to do, my lovelies." Still whispering, she laid out her plan, grinning evilly. Oh, the bat was going to pay.  
  
Two hours later, while Draco and Harry were seated in the Library, completing the latest Potions assignment, they heard a blood curdling shriek resonating through the corridors. "What in the world?" Harry asked, jumping up and sprinting into the hallway. He jumped back as a screaming, sobbing streak flew past him. "Huh?"  
  
The blur shot around the corner, still babbling incoherently. Harry and Draco walked down the hallway, intrigued by what was going on. The turned the corner and stopped, flabbergasted. Professor Trelawney was sitting against the wall, collapsed in a heap, and sobbing her eyes out into Dumbledore's robe hem.  
  
"We're all going to hell, Albus! I read it in the tea leaves and then the crystal ball and then in my Tarot cards. We're all going to die and burn in Hell and Satan will torture ME personally," she gasped, fainting. Dumbledore stared at her and then scooped her up into his arms.  
  
"Professor! What's going on? Do you need any help?" Harry asked, trying to appear concerned when all he wanted to do was curl up into a little ball and laugh hysterically.  
  
Behind him, Draco let out a strangled cough. "Headmaster Dumbledore, do you need assistance?" he asked, still coughing. Harry turned around to see a very red Draco gasping for breath.  
  
Harry quickly pounded him on the back. *Quit laughing, you fool!*  
  
*I can't help it, Harry. This is too priceless! She's actually gone insane!* Draco, with one last cough, straightened up, the redness in his face slowly fading.  
  
"No, boys, I think I can handle this. Please return to whatever you were doing." Dumbledore turned, and hunched over slightly from the unconscious bundle in his arms, carried the Divinations Professor to the Hospital Wing.  
  
Harry and Draco waited until he was out of ear shot and they collapsed into a heap on the floor, laughing uncontrollably.  
  
"Did you- HAHAHAHAHAHAhaha - see her???" Harry gasped, rolling into a sitting position and shoving Draco off of him at the same time.  
  
Draco sat up as well, gasping for air and holding his stomach. "Oh- hahahahaha- shit, I- heheheheheheehehe- thought I was going to bust a gut!" They sat there, laughing hysterically, for almost fifteen minutes before calming themselves enough to actually stand up.  
  
Once having suitably calmed themselves, they stumbled back into the Library, arms around each other's waists, still giggling and chuckling.  
  
  
  
Professor Dumbledore was not present for lunch or dinner that day. For some reason, during dinner, Ginny was not her usual perky self. Instead of talking and laughing with Luna and Emily, like she usually did, she sat by herself, idly toying with her food.  
  
*Gin, what's wrong?* Draco and Harry asked simultaneously.  
  
Her head shot up and she stared at them nervously. *No-nothing,* she stuttered, chewing on her lip in anxiety.  
  
*Bull shit, Gin. Tell us,* Harry demanded, staring her straight in the eye.  
  
*Fine, you know how Trelawney was an ass yesterday?* she asked, toying with her braided hair.  
  
*Yeah, what of it? The woman is insane. Don't fret over it, sis,* Draco told her. For some reason, this made Ginny burst into tears.  
  
*I know she's insane!* she wailed mentally, broadcasting so loudly she attracted the attention of every telepath in the vicinity. *I MADE her that way!*  
  
*WHAT?* asked Severus, Remus, James, Lily, Harry, Draco, Emily, Blaise, Ron, Hermione, Dudley, Seamus, Eric, Godric, Salazar, Alanna, Xander, Olivia, Gaila, Michael, Raphael, Rowan, Gabrielle, Nicholai and Damien simultaneously.  
  
Ginny buried her head in her arms. *I can create little flying imps- it's one of my demon powers. Well, I created about sixty of them and set them loose in her classroom, with the orders to make every divination tool to give her the same reading: That we're all going to die and burn in Hell and that Satan would be roasting her personally. She went insane!*  
  
The entire Hall was silent, and then peels of laughter shook the rafters. Everyone unable to hear the conversation just stared, confused, as thirty people collapsed, rolling on the floor laughing. Even Severus couldn't keep his normally dour face and started chuckling. *Oh MY GOD!!!* screeched Alanna, falling from her chair from laughing so hard. *That's incredible! I have to remember that one and use it later on!*  
  
Draco slapped her on the back. *Good one!* he cheered, grinning widely. Harry sat on the floor, holding his aching sides, unable to keep from howling with laughter.  
  
*No, it was WRONG!* Ginny yelled, tears falling freely from her eyes. *I SNAPPED her MIND!*  
  
*Um, Ginny?* Severus asked cautiously. *She was already batty. Her uncontrollable Divination skills made her lose her mind long before you were born. Don't worry about it. Seriously.*  
  
Ginny stared at him, her face flushing with anger. *But I tipped her over the edge! She thinks we are ALL GOING TO BURN IN HELL!!!!!!*  
  
Severus lost it completely and slid from his chair onto the floor, tears of mirth streaming from his eyes. *Must uphold... dignity,* he thought before Apparating straight to his quarters before everyone saw him make a fool of himself.  
  
Ginny sat there, still stewing. *It was WRONG!* she insisted stubbornly. *I NEVER should have done it!*  
  
*Virginia Weaseley Potter Malfoy, she got what was coming to her. Stop berating yourself,* Draco ordered sternly before collapsing onto the floor next to Harry.  
  
Ginny sat still, shocked. *Virginia Weaseley Potter Malfoy, I like the sound of that,* she thought happily to herself, finally taking a bite of food.  
  
Harry and Draco sat up from where they had rolled on the floor, bumping their heads on the underside of the table. *OW!*  
  
Professor Dumbledore walked into the Great Hall and stared at the snickering Demigods and Elementals. "I'm glad to see you all in such hearty spirits, but I'm afraid I have some extremely bad news," he boomed, waiting for the Hall to fall silent.  
  
Five minutes later, everyone had quieted enough for him to continue. "I'm afraid that Professor Trelawney has fallen ill and had to be taken to St. Mungo's for observation. We have no idea when she will return, of if she will ever be well enough to come home to us. In the meantime, Professor Firenze will teach all Divination classes for the remainder of this term, and until she is well enough to continue teaching. I would like a moment of silence in commemoration of a wonderful teacher."  
  
The Hall fell dutifully silent. *Um, Draco?* asked Olivia and Gaila. *What kind of teacher was she, really?*  
  
*Only a batty old fraud. So, she's in St. Mungo's for mental health issues. I WONDER why?* he asked sarcastically. *Maybe they've finally realized she's insane?*  
  
Harry sniggered, trying unsuccessfully to hide it as a cough.  
  
"On a much lighter note, the Winter Holidays will begin on Friday, the Eighteenth of December, which is the week after the Yule Ball. The trains will be departing from Hogsmede at ten o'clock in the morning and at noon the Nineteenth, which is a Saturday. All students who are staying for the Winter Holidays will need to see their House Heads and place their names on the sign up sheets in their Common Rooms. That is all and enjoy your dinners." Dumbledore sat down at the Teacher's tables.  
  
"Harry, you are staying, right?" Emily asked hopefully.  
  
"Of course. It's not like he can go anywhere else," Draco answered, buttering a roll.  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. "Thanks a million, Draco. Make me feel unwanted, why don't you!" Everyone snickered as he elbowed his soul mate in the ribs. Draco pretended to die a horrible, painful death and fell off the bench with a crash.  
  
Professor McGonagall glared at them. "Mister Potter, may I have a word with you, please?" she asked primly. Harry rolled his eyes and, standing up, followed her from the Hall.  
  
Draco stared after him, worried. He stood up and tried to follow them only to have McGonagall slam the doors in his face. *Uncle Sev, you need to get back here!* he yelled, Severus Apparating instantly to his side.  
  
  
  
She turned to Harry, angry. "Mister Potter, I must insist you remove yourself from his company! Why do you insist on abandoning your House and sleeping, eating, and spending all your time with the Slytherins? They are a bad influence!"  
  
Harry stared at her, fury creeping into his expression. Suddenly, his features tilled, becoming an icy mask. "Who I associate with is none of your concern, and I will sleep and eat with whomever and wherever I choose. You have no say in the matter, Professor. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to eat my dinner, with my friends." He turned as if to walk away from her.  
  
McGonagall's hand shot out, grabbing his arm. "Now you listen here, Mister Potter. You will move your belongings back to the Gryffindor Dorms as well as Miss Weaseley, and you will eat at the Gryffindor Table. Do I make myself clear?"  
  
Harry stared at her, his expression unreadable. Suddenly, McGonagall gasped, her fingers gripped by an icy fist. Unseen fingers slowly peeled her fingers from Harry's arm, hyper extending each digit until she almost cried out with pain.  
  
"Do not cross me, Professor. I know more about magic than you could ever hope to learn. In fact, I am only here to continue training to face Clautius and win." Harry released her hand with a look, and she instantly grabbed her wrist, massaging the aching tendons.  
  
"You will be expelled for this, Potter," she spat, glaring daggers at him. A sudden noise behind Harry had them both turning and staring.  
  
Alanna, Xander, Severus, Lily, James, Remus, Draco and Ginny stood behind Harry in the doorway. "If he is expelled, we all leave with him," Alanna announced grimly. As one, the rest of the Demigods, Demigoddesses, as well as Harry's group of friends stood and calmly joined the group in the doorway.  
  
"We go as well," Emily announced, speaking for everyone. "And I don't think you'd want us to leave Hogwarts practically defenseless."  
  
"And, listen here, McGonagall, keep your hands off my son!!!" Lily yelled, grabbing Harry and pulling him into her arms. Harry willingly stood in her embrace, resting his head against both of his parents' shoulders.  
  
Dumbledore stood up. "No one is leaving or being expelled. Due to the extenuating circumstances, Minerva, Harry and Ginny will remain in the Slytherin Dorms, as unorthodox as it seems. They are happy there and are readily accessible to Severus, Lily, and James should the need arise. Why are you attempting to change a good thing? Why is this bothering you so much now?"  
  
"He's in MY house! Why must he go to Severus for help? Why couldn't he come to me? I'm his Head of House and he went elsewhere for help! Do you know how that reflects on me??" she yelled, forgetting that she was in the middle of the Great Hall.  
  
Severus cocked an eyebrow. "Maybe because of the face that he's my NEPHEW???" he asked loudly.  
  
Minerva stared at him. "You only treated him as if he were scum for the last six years! Why now? Why the change?"  
  
Harry stared at her angrily. "Really, Professor," he spat. "Where were you while I was having nightmares? Where were Ron and Hermione? They both told me to leave them alone and stop my screaming! You never once helped me when I spent the night having vision after vision. Uncle Severus made Potions, which helped even though he treated me horribly. You never did anything!"  
  
McGonagall stared at him, her mouth opening and closing. She turned on her heel and strode from the Hall, her robes swishing behind her. Harry stared after her and, with a scowl that could curdle milk, allowed Draco to lead him back to the Slytherin Tables.  
  
  
  
Thursday night, at around eight o'clock, Jacques Flooed back to Hogwarts with twenty two dress robes and delivered each of them personally. He made everyone try them on so he could make any last minute alterations in order to ensure a perfect fit.  
  
Harry tried his on, while standing on an impromptu stool in their dorms. The heavy ebony silk outer cloak swirled from his shoulders to his feet, held together at the neck by a silver chain with a silver clasp in the shape of a panther. The cloak covered an old Muggle style black tuxedo with tails and a forest green vest.  
  
Draco walked into the room at that moment and stopped dead in his tracks. *Oh my GOD he's hot,* he thought numbly. Harry turned around and smiled slowly, a gesture that melted Draco's insides. *Ohhh can't wait to peel him out of those robes and - is that a TUX???* he thought incoherently.  
  
Harry smirked. *Draco, it's your turn,* he thought mischievously as Jacques nodded his approval and let him get off the stool. He stood to the side, anxious to see what his soul mate would be wearing.  
  
Draco numbly climbed up, his feet on autopilot as he stared at his incredibly handsome soul mate. *Could you wear your hair long and tied back?* Draco asked, looking him over with a critical eye. *You're hot as hell now, but I think it would make you look positively sinful...* he trailed off as Harry ran his hands through his spikes, removing the green and silver and adding inches to the length. Finally, his thick, wavy locks were past his shoulder blades and he tied it back with a conjured silver and emerald clasp. Draco's eyes widened. *Ummm, y- yeah, like- like that,* he stuttered.  
  
Harry laughed, music to Draco's ears. *Uh man, I have it BAD,* Draco thought miserably.  
  
*Well, but look at who you fell for. You have excellent taste, Dragon.* Harry preened in front of a full length mirror, eyes sparkling.  
  
Draco laughed, not even noticing the onyx three piece tuxedo with a wine and steel vest that Jacques had charmed onto him, and looked at himself in the conjured mirror. He gasped. "Merlin I look good!" Jacques handed him the outer cloak, a steel colored silk with a wine colored satin lining. He slung it around his shoulders and let it hang gracefully to his feet. He closed the clasp on the platinum chain- a burnished silver wolf with icy blue eyes, and hopped down from the stool, coming to stand next to Harry in front of the mirror.  
  
"Correction, Mister Malfoy, WE look good," Harry gravely intoned, and grinned as he slung his arm around Draco. "Jacques, you're a miracle worker," he exclaimed, turning around.  
  
"I was nothing, Masters Potter and Malfoy. I am pleased that you like it." The man bowed and left, carrying the rest of the robes under his arms.  
  
  
  
Saturday morning, Draco awoke at an ungodly hour, convinced something was wrong. He sleepily stood up. *Why am I in my own bed?* he wondered, before remembering everything that had happened. *Damn it, I'll never get used to sleeping without him next to me,* he muttered mournfully.  
  
A soft whimpering sound had him racing to Harry's bed. *Oh no, not again,* he thought anxiously as he felt sudden terror radiated from Harry's mind. *Not another one. Hang on, Harry, I'm coming.* He ripped open the curtains, to hear shrieks of terror, intermixed with moans.  
  
"No, Uncle Vernon, I won't - STOP, PLEASE GOD STOP! Oh please, help me, anyone, anybody please stop him. AUNT PETUNIA, PLEASE HELP ME!!!!" Draco dove onto the bed, broadening the link between them and forcing Harry out of his dream and into wakefulness.  
  
"Dr- Draco? What?" Harry asked, his eyes only half open.  
  
"What did I tell you bout silencing charms?" Draco asked silkily.  
  
Harry's eyes widened. "Ummm, what are you talking about?" he lied, completely awake. *OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT.*  
  
Draco smirked evilly. "You have forgotten that I can see your thoughts, Love. Let's see, Sev and I promised that we'd hex you into the middle of next week. Not only did you put up silencing charms, you partially blocked the link so I couldn't hear you mentally."  
  
Harry blushed and idly stared at his comforter, playing with the threads. "And what are you going to do about it?" he asked in a low voice, unable to meet Draco's eyes.  
  
Draco scowled. "I-"  
  
Ginny rushed into the room. "Come on, get out of bed! We have a game against Dragon's Fang here in an hour!" Harry and Draco jumped up and raced for the bathroom.  
  
*This isn't over, Potter. We will talk about this,* Draco promised Harry mentally. Harry shivered.  
  
  
  
Everyone rushed to the locker room after warm-ups, ready for the game. Draco opened the floodgates in his and Harry's minds that linked everyone together, giving everyone a pep talk. Harry stayed silent, still shaken by the dream. He kept reliving bits and pieces of the memories that bubbled and boiled below the surface of his consciousness.  
  
*Harry? HARRY!* Draco yelled, shaking him from his memories. Harry's head shot up, and he blinked rapidly.  
  
"Yes?" he asked aloud, focusing on the task at hand.  
  
*Are you ready? We have to go!* Draco pulled Harry to his feet and shoved his broom into his hand. Harry's fingers closed automatically around the handle and he pushed off, shooting out the door. Draco followed him, worried. *What is wrong, Harry?* he asked. Harry refused to answer, instead landing in front of the Dragon Fang captain. They shook hand briefly and the Referee, unwilling to make yet another speech about fair play, just released the Snitch, Bludgers, and Quaffle as quickly as possible.  
  
The two teams shot off the ground and the game was on. Harry half heartedly shot the Quaffle at the Keeper, surprisingly scoring a goal. Draco tailed him, scowling. *What the fuck is wrong with him???* he snapped to Ginny, who just shrugged. *If he can't keep his mind on the game then we're going to have to replace him!*  
  
Harry scowled slightly. *I heard that, you know. I am a part of this link. And we are winning,* Draco shot the Quaffle into the Goal, scoring another ten points, *so I don't see the problem.*  
  
*Get your act together, Harry, or we'll put in Johnson, Bones, or Andrews!* James yelled, as he dove for the Snitch.  
  
*What's the point? You're gonna catch the little stupid Snitch anyway, so the game's as good as over. And, we shut them out!* Harry yelled back as Ginny scored yet another goal. Not even fifteen minutes had past and they were already up by almost seventy points. Two minutes later, James caught the Snitch and they were up by two hundred and ten, having let the other team score a goal because they felt bad.  
  
The teams shook hands and Harry led the way back to the locker room, anxious to get away from his prying soul mate. He rushed into the shower, stripping on the way and giving all the female members of the team an unintentional free show.  
  
Draco flew into the locker room just in time to see a half naked Harry Potter dart into the shower. *OH no you don't, Potter! Get back here and explain why the hell your brain is up your ass today!*  
  
*What??* snapped Harry, stalking out of the shower as naked as the day as he was born, sopping wet.  
  
Draco swallowed and closed his eyes. *Would you please either cover up or go back into the shower?* he begged, trying to grasp a tenuous control over his hormones.  
  
*You wanted to talk, so fucking talk, damn it!* Harry walked right up to Draco and grabbed his chin, forcing him to open his eyes and look his soul mate straight in the eye.  
  
Draco gasped at the pain and anguish in his eyes.*Harry, talk to me, What's wrong?* he pleaded, needing to understand why Harry was in pain.  
  
*Why do you always have to get involved, Draco?* Harry asked wearily. *Aren't I allowed to simply have a bad day?*  
  
*Maybe I want to get involved because I care about you?* Draco countered, wrapping Harry in his arms.  
  
Harry stiffened and pulled away. *Just, I don't know, just let me be. You know, I used to dealing with everything on my own. I'm sixteen, not six. I don't need your help all the time.*  
  
Draco stared at him, incredibly hurt. *You know, Potter, that's the meanest thing you've ever said to me. Even calling me Ferret didn't hurt that badly. I just want to help because I care. Is that too hard for you to accept?*  
  
Harry sighed. *I'm not used to help. I always had to do things on my own, so I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you, but I'm used to dealing with the things that bother me by myself and - I don't know how to explain it and I think right here isn't the best of places to be talking about this.* He turned and walked back into the shower, Draco appreciating the extraordinary view from behind.  
  
*Oh you like that, don't you?* Harry growled, shaking with repressed laughter. He turned the water back on with a flick of his wrist.  
  
Draco turned strawberry red. *Shut up, Harry,* he growled.  
  
Harry's laughter echoed off the walls as he gave Draco a visual of EXACTLY what he was doing to himself. Draco turned and ran out of the locker room, his face burning with a mixture of embarrassment and lust. *Damn you, Harry...*  
  
  
  
Five uneventful hours later, filled with Harry refusing to talk and Draco alternating between swearing, pleading, and giving him the silent treatment, they decided to get ready for the Yule Ball. Silently they dressed, standing in front of the same full length conjured mirror as they completed the transformations from Gothic and sexy to classy and absolutely sinful.  
  
"I must say, Draco, I think we're going to be the best dressed there," Harry said, his voice subdued and he truly looked at the both of them in the mirror.  
  
Draco simply nodded. He had removed the cobalt streaks in his hair, and was once again a platinum blond. He had grown his hair out to past his shoulders in the back, leaving a few chin length face framing wisps in the front and securing the rest with an onyx silk ribbon.  
  
Harry stood next to him, his hair once again shoulder blade length and tied back with a silver and emerald silk ribbon. "Hmm," he mumbled, staring at his reflection. "Don't you think it's missing something?"  
  
Draco turned and stared at Harry questioningly. A smirk settled onto Harry's face with ease. "Maybe... wings?" he teased.  
  
Draco turned a fiery scarlet and ducked his head. "I'm never going to live that down, am I?" he asked, shaking his head.  
  
Harry laughed and hugged him. "It's ok, you know. I did realize exactly how hot I was with the wings and when you grew them you looked almost as good as you do now." Harry ruffled his hair, mussing it. Draco snarled and batted his hand away, rushing to the mirror and summoning a brush.  
  
"Damn it, Potter, you've gone and ruined it!" he complained, focusing on getting his hair to lie flat. Harry walked over and grabbed the brush, sitting Draco down on the edge of his bed.  
  
"Sit still, dork," Harry instructed. Draco was about to open his mouth to protest, but the soothing lull of having someone else brush his hair sent him into a daze. Five minutes later, Harry tied Draco's hair back into a neat ponytail at the nape of his neck. "There, all better," he said smugly, aware of the effect he had had on his soul mate.  
  
Still dazed, Draco allowed Harry to pull him up and steer him out the door. He lay his head against Harry's shoulder as Harry Apparated them straight to the entrance of the Great Hall. "Wakey wakey, Love," Harry gently whispered into Draco's ear. "We can't go in with you looking all dazed, can we? They'll wonder what we did and why the planet didn't blow up."  
  
Draco turned around and stared at him, blinking. "Too bad that's not the reason I'm dazed," he complained wistfully. Harry chuckled and pushed open the doors.  
  
The strains of Brittney Spear's "Drive Me Crazy" hit their ears and they stared, grimacing, at the gyrating bodies in the center of the floor.  
  
*Oh my god, Harry, what is this?* Draco hissed in anguish, covering his ears to escape the noise.  
  
*Brittney fucking Spears. Just great. Who else do they have- Fucking Shania Twain?* he hissed angrily, curling his nose in disgust. *Hmm, I wonder if she'd play Toxic or Slave. That would definitely make the night worthwhile.*  
  
*What songs are those?* Draco wondered.  
  
*Only some of the dirtiest, sexiest songs I've ever heard. Definitely worth dancing to,* Harry promised, dragging his reluctant soul mate into the Great Hall. Almost half the Hall turned to look at them, some even stopping mid gyration to check out the two incredibly sexy guys waltzing through the doors.  
  
They quickly strode over to the Slytherin Tables and Harry stopped in midstep, staring at his parents. They had stood up at his and Draco's arrival and he stared at them, astonished. *Oh WOW, Draco, we aren't the best dressed. I feel downright shabby.* Lily stood next to James, both their eyes sparkling.  
  
Harry took in what his mother was wearing. *Oh my god, Draco, she's beautiful, just like all the pictures Uncle Sev showed us from their Yule Balls.* Harry walked over to his mother, eyes wide with wonder. Draco walked next to him, agreeing whole heartedly. Lily Potter was simply stunning. Jacques had really done wonders. She was draped in a floor length ebony velvet evening gown that molded to her body from the sweetheart neckline to her mid thighs before flaring gracefully down to her toes. Instead of material, eight strands of diamonds glittered on her shoulders, four on each, serving as straps for the dress. Her hair was upswept into a messy bun with flame colored ringlets escaping and cascading down to the middle of her back.  
  
James stood next to her, impressive in open silk onyx formal robes with an onyx and cobalt blue tuxedo underneath. He wrapped his arms around his wife, who held his arms open. Harry flung himself into their arms. *You two look incredible,* he mumbled, grinning widely.  
  
Lily held her son at arms length, staring intently at his formal attire. *You look wonderful, Harry.* She sniffed, dangerously close to tears, Harry just hugged her. *I'm sorry, son, I don't mean to cry, but it just hit me exactly how much we've missed. I never got to see you grow up and now you-* she broke down into tears.  
  
Harry and James held Lily. *Shh, Mum, it's all right. Please don't cry.*  
  
Still sniffing, Lily grinned at him. *My baby, all grown up,* she though fondly, smoothing his hair. Harry mentally cringed but sat down next to her and James at the Slytherin Table, with Draco beside him.  
  
A shadow loomed over them and Harry turned, poised for a flight or fight. He let out a small sigh of relief when he saw that it was only Severus, Remus, Neville and Luna, all in formal robes, except for Luna, who wore a floor length ice blue satin gown.  
  
"Hey, you guys look great!" Harry exclaimed happily, shouting a little to be heard over the noise.  
  
Luna wrinkled her nose. "You know, I hate to say it, but the music leaves something to be desired."  
  
Severus coughed, hiding a chuckle. "Indeed, Miss Lovegood, I couldn't agree more."  
  
Harry stared at them, amusement shining in his eyes. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked Draco in a low voice.  
  
"I'm thinking we blow this place and go somewhere fancy, how about you?" Draco asked, in an equally low tone.  
  
Harry grinned and kissed him lightly on the lips. "I love it when we think alike." *Mum, Dad, change of plans. How about we go to Paris or Cairo or somewhere equally nice for the evening? The whole group?*  
  
Lily and James turned and stared at him, shocked and excited. *Everyone? All twenty two of us?*  
  
*I don't want to waste a really nice set of clothing, you know,* Harry drolly replied. Lily started laughing.  
  
*Well, I haven't been to Paris or Cairo since our honeymoon, for that matter. I know of several restaurants and clubs we could go to that would be acceptable,* James thought excitedly.  
  
*Oh wow, I've NEVER been to Paris. Gran wouldn't let me because she said it was too dangerous,* Neville said excitedly.  
  
Alanna and Xander finally made their appearances, with the rest of the Demigods in tow. *What'd we miss?* Alanna asked, slinging her arm around Xander's neck and kissing his cheek.  
  
*This sucks and we're getting out of here,* Severus bluntly stated.  
  
Alanna's mouth opened in an 'oh' of surprise. *What? Don't you want to shake your butt to the whole teenybopper thing?* she asked sarcastically.  
  
*Nope,* Seamus thought, coming up behind them with Blaise. *Where are we going?*  
  
*Paris? Buenos Aires? Cairo? You name it, we could go there,* Draco replied cheekily.  
  
*Let's keep it simple, people. How about Paris for dinner and Cairo for clubbing afterward?* Alanna suggested, examining her perfectly manicured nails. *I know a really good restaurant in Paris and we are definitely dressed correctly to go there. And, I know several upscale clubs in Cairo where the music is incredible, the drinks are- well, what are we waiting for? Let's get everyone and go!* Quickly, she mentally called ahead, apparently talking to the manager and maitre de of the establishment. *All set,* she announced thirty seconds later. *They have room and are preparing a conference room for us.*  
  
*Em, Eric, where are you?* Harry called, searching for the last of their group.  
  
*She's in the bathroom and won't come out,* Eric replied hurriedly. *She's been in there for over an hour!*  
  
*Have not! I've only been in her for about... let's see, forty two minutes and fifteen seconds. And I'm almost done.* Emily sounded a little bit stressed. *Ginny, could you help me?*  
  
*Sure thing Em. I'll be right there,* Harry heard his sister reply. *I just have to finish spelling myself into my dress. It's a bitch to zip up!*  
  
*Ok, you two, hurry it up, would ya? We're getting out of here and heading to Paris for dinner and then to Cairo for dancing. This party bites.*  
  
*That sounds like fun... I like it!* Emily called back. Five minutes of Brittney Spears Hell later, the last three finally showed up.  
  
Ginny, Emily, and Eric strode into the Hall as if they owned the place. Ginny, in a backless sweetheart neckline forest green satin dress, Harry and Draco walked over to her and each held out their arms. Laughing, she took both of them and they strolled to the Slytherin Tables and stood next to Alanna and Xander, Emily and Eric bringing up the rear in matching black and silver. Emily's gown, while still decidedly on the punk side, was incredibly stylish, and Eric looked very interesting to say the least in a black silk shirt, pants, and a tuxedo jacket slung over one shoulder. Somehow, he was missing his tie and vest.  
  
To the shock of everyone in the Great Hall, the group Apparated immediately, heading for parts known to no one but themselves. They reappeared in front of an upscale restaurant in the heart of Paris, Le Che', and Alanna ushered them inside. "Come on, Pierre is waiting for us. Let's go."  
  
Three hours later, they sedately strode back out, having had one of the best and most expensive meals of Harry's life. Alanna quickly placed an Apparation sphere around everyone and they Apparated straight to Cairo. They spent the next five hours club hopping: dancing, drinking, talking, and having the time of their lives. They stumbled out of the last club Alanna had recommended and Harry checked the time. *OH shit, it's 3 in the morning, guys. We have to get back, the Headmaster- heehee Head Master. I just got that!*  
  
Alanna groaned and giggled. *Shut it, dork!*  
  
Xander poked his soul mate in the ribs.*Lana, you're a funny drunk, heehee, Head Master...*  
  
*ANYWAY, the big guy at the school is gonna be pissed!* Harry finished, still giggling.  
  
Lily and James had to be interrupted, because they were wildly making out, leaning up against the wall of a nearby building. Gaila and Olivia just stared at them oddly before walking over to Rowan and making her break them up. Rowan took great delight in conjuring a megaphone and screaming, "THIS IS THE PDA POLICE! DISENGAGE AND STEP AWAY FROM EACH OTHER!!!!!" They sprang apart, looking sheepish, and Alanna grabbed Lily's arm.  
  
"Come on, Little Sister, we have to go! Big D is gonna pitch a fit that we're out so late!" Lily and James obediently followed and they all Apparated straight to Hogwarts, everyone in different stages of inebriation. They stumbled into the Great Hall, Severus quickly downing a sobriety potion and giving some to all the students and to Alanna, Xander, Lily, James and Remus.  
  
Not as minute too soon, Dumbledore ran into the Great Hall, looking furious. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN????" he thundered.  
  
"Relax, Headmaster," Alanna drawled, and in the background, Draco and Harry snickered. She shot a glare at them and continued. "I took them to see the sights. You know, the ones in Paris and Cairo."  
  
Dumbledore's mouth opened and closed several times and he stared at them incredulously. "PARIS??? CAIRO???" he shook his head mutely. "I won't even ask," he muttered and walked off.  
  
Harry elbowed Draco. "You think he's mad because we forgot to invite him?" he asked in all seriousness. Draco fell over laughing, Olivia, Gaila, Michael, Rowan, and Damien following suit.  
  
"Ok, people, let's get to bed," Severus smirked, his lips twitching with a repressed smile. *Dumbledore clubbing... why is that image both insanely funny and incredibly scary at the same time?*  
  
  
  
Harry and Draco pretended to go to their dorms, but, after everyone was asleep, they Apparated to the Chamber of Secrets at Draco's insistence. "Ok, I'm awake and here. What is it now?" Harry asked after lying comfortably on the couch, his head propped on Draco's lap.  
  
"You wanna tell me what is going on? I've waited all day and you still haven't explained why you refuse to accept help." Draco played with Harry's hair.  
  
*Ok, fine, Dray,* Harry switched to telepathy. *If you were treated as badly as I was from age two to eleven, then had the entire fate of the Wizarding World dumped exclusively on your shoulders. Wait, this is sounding wrong. I'm trying to say...* Harry fell silent, thoughts whirling.  
  
Draco waited patiently for him to find the right words to express himself. *I guess what I'm trying to say is that it feels like I'm a failure every time I get help from someone else. I've been on my own for so long and the teachers here, McGonagall and Dumbledore especially, have made me feel like I have to face everything on my own, and it's to the point where I expect to deal with everything on my own rather than ask for help. Does that make any sense?*  
  
Draco frowned. *I swear I'm gonna kick them all. What the hell are they trying to do? Make sure that you die? No one can stand on their own without support from others.*  
  
Harry shifted uncomfortably. *Oh come on, Draco. It wasn't that bad. I'm still alive, aren't I?*  
  
*You don't treat people like that, Harry- leaving an infant to fend for himself against a fucking child molester and then expecting that same person to save you entire way of existence. It's so stupid!* Draco seethed, furious. *It just isn't right!* visions of torturing Dumbledore for his stupidity, Voldemort for killing Harry's parents and Vernon Dursley for obvious reasons slammed through the link.  
  
Harry sat up, and wrapped his arms around Draco. *You know, I had to live with it and I'm not homicidal.*  
  
*You should be, Harry, you should be.* Draco wrapped his arms around Harry. Suddenly sleepy, he transfigured the couch into a large, king sized bed complete with blankets and pillows. *Go to sleep,* he commanded. Harry was all too happy to comply.  
  
  
  
The next week, the last week of school before Winter Holiday, was a flurry of activity. Alanna officially announced Wednesday afternoon that she had taught them all to the fullest of their abilities and that they were full fledged Elementalists. Everyone cheered, and Harry and Draco clapped enthusiastically. *Damn, you two, * Alanna thought in amusement. *You made a year long course go by in half the time. What am I going to teach for the next semester?*  
  
Harry walked over the Alanna. *I have an idea, * he thought privately to her, excluding everyone else. Draco sulked, being cut out of the connection. Harry explained his idea to Alanna, and by the end of it, she was grinning broadly and nodding.  
  
"Excellent! Everyone, Harry has had an idea, which is going to be a surprise to everyone else. Just be back next semester, same time and place." Excited whispers broke out amongst the twenty students in the Room of Requirement.  
  
"All right," Draco demanded once they left the classroom. "Tell me what that was all about!"  
  
"Love, I can't. It would ruin the surprise and part of your Christmas present," Harry said mysteriously, smirking.  
  
Draco sulked for the rest of the day.  
  
  
  
Thursday, Harry firecalled his parent's Lawyer, Gareth McKnight, and asked him if he was available Saturday morning.  
  
"Yes, Lord Potter, I would be happy to assist you. May I ask why I am needed?" the estate lawyer asked curiously.  
  
"I'm completing a blood binding ritual and would like my sister to be added as someone who can access my vault. I also have several other requests."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Are you sitting down?" Harry asked calmly.  
  
"Actually, yes, I am."  
  
"My parents are alive." McKnight's mouth dropped open in shock.  
  
"Are you- are you sure?" he asked, incredulous.  
  
"Yes, and you're going to meet them on Saturday. I want them to be re- added as part owners of the vault, and have full access to any accounts. I also have found out that Sirius Black is not only innocent, but still alive as well and I would like to recreate the Black Fortune from my own funds. I would also like Draco Malfoy to be added in as someone who can access my vault as well."  
  
McKnight looked flabbergasted, but nodded. "I'll have the necessary paperwork drawn up and have it ready Saturday morning. I assume you will be at Potter Manor?"  
  
Harry frowned. "No, we have some training to do over break and will be at school all Holiday long."  
  
"I will be in the Great Hall at eleven o'clock on Saturday morning. Is that acceptable?" McKnight asked, writing in a notebook.  
  
"Excellent, Mr. McKnight. We will be expecting you." Harry closed the fire connection in Severus's quarters and stretched. *Saturday is going to be fun,* he thought mischievously.  
  
  
  
Friday came, in Harry's mind, all too soon. He, Draco, Emily, Eric, Blaise, Seamus, Neville, Luna and Ginny, as well as all the demigods and demigoddesses had signed up to stay for the Winter Holidays at the request of Alanna. Harry was a little disappointed because he wanted to visit Potter Manor and Merlin's Castle and all those other places he had supposedly inherited.  
  
*Hmmm, Draco?* Harry asked once the last of the students leaving had boarded the train for King's Cross.  
  
*What?* Draco asked idly, as they sat in the Slytherin Common rooms with everyone else who had stayed.  
  
*Do you have the Book?* Harry asked, absently brushing his soul mate's hair. Draco sat at his feet, just about reduced to a purring, boneless mass at his soul mate's careful ministrations.  
  
*Wha- what book?* Draco asked dazedly, his mind only focused on how good it felt.  
  
*The Blood Binding Ritual Book!* Harry sniggered. *Really, Draco, one would think I was doing something else to you with the way you're out of it.*  
  
*Hey, since that part of our relationship has been put on hold until we can find a way NOT to blow anything up, I take pleasure where I can get it.* Draco stretched, catlike, and Harry watched, bemused, as Draco wriggled this way and that, popping each vertebra until he sagged back, satisfied. "Ohhhh, that felt so GOOOD," he moaned aloud, earning curious stares from everyone in the room.  
  
Ginny snickered. "Everything all right over there?" she asked, looking up from her book.  
  
"Fine, fine," Harry said distractedly. *Come on, Draco, I want that book. Let's go.*  
  
Grumbling, Draco allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. *Why now?* he asked.  
  
*Because I want to do the ceremony tomorrow. I've even asked Mr. Gareth McKnight to draw up the paperwork, you poof.*  
  
Draco snickered. *Look who's calling who a poof, faerie.*  
  
*I'll have you know that I am NOT homosexual,* Harry protested arrogantly.  
  
*Your soul mate is a male, dear. You are gay.*  
  
*No, because I'm not attracted to other men, or women for that matter.*  
  
Draco cocked an eyebrow. *What does that have to do with anything?* he wondered.  
  
*I'm DRACOsexual. I'm ONLY attracted to you, you dolt.* Harry grinned and, linking arms with his soul mate, they went to find the book. *Tomorrow's gonna be fun.*  
  
  
  
A/N: WHOOO HOOOOO another chapter done. Yes they will have sex and it will be soon, how soon, I dunno. So, what did you think? (sings)Trelawney's gone, Trelawney's gone yippee! Trelawney's gone! YIPPEE! I've had way too much sugar today and I have laryngitis so I can't talk so I'm getting all my insane chatter out on paper. So, let's see: Oh yea, read and review for me, as I love your words of wisdom, ramblings, and crack dreams. No death threats, though. I stop writing for days after those cuz I'm too upset and depressed to even dream of typing anything happy and I promised to retire suicidal Harry. So, I can't bring him back... maybe Draco? Naw, he's too happy and cute. Ginny'd just flambé' whatever is bothering her, and Seamus would blow it up, same as Emily and Eric and Blaise. Neville's too kind and Luna's too spacey. Oh well, damn. So I'm sitting here listening to Yellowcard and typing and yeah, please please please review. I would really like that. Oh, and I'm working on drawing ( illustrating) for my story, like Harry with wings and Draco with wings and them in the tuxes and maybe Lily and James and a group picture, that would be incredible, or maybe individual shots, anyone interested in seeing them? As soon as I actually finish them and all I'll figure out a way to maybe get them as part of the story or email them out or yeah, something.  
  
B/N: Do you see what you have done?! You send death threats and she gets upset! You damn pixies! Leave her alone, go away! No, wait, don't go away.... review first, then leave! Ok, ok, I will stop making the poor readers feel bad *mumble*stupidgoddamnfrigging*mumble* Well then, until next time! Love and presents (I ran out of cookies)! TTFN!  
  
Preview: Blood-binding Ritual! 


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter! Thanks for the lovely reviews and to the lonely person who thinks my precious demigods suck ass, you should watch your mail over the next couple weeks.... Hehehe.... don't worry, Alanna, Xander, I still love you. Cover your eyes children and pay no mind to the loser defaming your names. Oh and why didn't anyone like and therefore comment on the prank? I spent so much time planning that and now, sniff it wasn't appreciated like it should have been. Anyway, I got the idea from the Disney movie Anastasia, you know, Rasputin having those winged imps doing his bidding and all.  
  
I LOVE YOU PITCHIC05!!!!!!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!! Just so everyone knows, she gave me the end of chapter 4 and now it's updated so anyone who didn't read the end of chapter 4 go reread it! Thank you everyone who got me the chapters. You guys are the best!  
  
Chapter 25  
  
At ten thirty a.m. the next morning, Harry and Draco put the finishing touches on the binding circle in the center of the Room of Requirement. Severus and Lily watched them avidly, bickering quietly from their chairs.  
  
"I still say they should have placed the proper incantations while outside the circle, not inside," Severus argued, drawing his nephew's and godson's attention.  
  
"For the last time, Sev, that's why the circle exploded on you and sent you flying forty feet. I don't want my son or his soul mate to go flying out a window. I can't imagine HOW I'd explain that one to the Headmaster." Severus chuckled, putting his feet up.  
  
"Oh, I can see it perfectly," he laughed. "Oh, Headmaster, I have no IDEA how that enormous hole appeared in the castle wall! It just happened ALL by ITSELF!!!" he exclaimed dramatically in a poor falsetto imitation of Lily, throwing his hand over his heart. Lily snickered and elbowed him in the ribs and they collapsed, laughing hysterically.  
  
"Do you two MIND?" Harry snapped irritably. "Do you WANT us to blow up the circle?" He and Draco stood just inside the shimmery circle painted on the floor. Energy rose from the floor, making a slightly opaque wall that stood about chest high.  
  
Lily and Severus sat up, still giggling. "Sorry, love," Lily gasped, holding her sides. "I'm having a blond moment."  
  
"Hey!" yelped Draco angrily. "I resemble that remark!"  
  
Lily and Severus turned to each other, identical smirks on their faces. "And your point is?" they asked in unison.  
  
Draco sniffed angrily. "I'll have you know that I'm deeply offended by that remark," he replied with wounded dignity.  
  
Harry affectionately patted him on the head. "It's ok, Draco. I love you just the way you are," he cooed gently, smirking. Draco visibly relaxed and smiled his cheeks tingeing red. "In fact," Harry continued, "it's your vapidness that drew me to you in the first place. Never change."  
  
Draco scowled and pouted. "That's the last straw! You're sleeping on the couch tonight!"  
  
Harry pouted in mock disbelief. "You wouldn't!" he accused.  
  
"Oh, watch me, Harold Potter."  
  
Harry smirked. "It's not like we do anything anyway..." he trailed off, earning himself a murderous glare from his soul mate and outright gales of laughter from his mother and uncle.  
  
"Well, if it means that little to you," Draco said with a sniff. He haughtily strode from the circle and out the door, almost slamming into Ginny on his way out. She stared at the three remaining people in the room, all hysterical with laughter, and rolled her eyes, walking after Draco.  
  
She found him standing a corridor away, snickering softly to himself. "Oh, do I wait for them to come after me or do I go back in all wounded? Vapidness indeed, I'll show them vapid!"  
  
"Um, Draco, are you all right?" Ginny asked, resting a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Oh, just fine, Ginny, just fine." Draco turned and walked back towards the Room of Requirement, Ginny following resolutely. They strode back into the room, to see a sobered Lily and Severus sitting on one couch, and a half asleep Harry sitting on the floor in front of his mother, who was playing with his hair.  
  
Ginny stared at him bemusedly. "Hey, Harry, Mrs. Potter, Uncle Sev, what're you doing in here?" Harry jumped.  
  
"Um, hi, Ginny. We- we're setting up," he finished, staring at Draco. _You weren't supposed to get her until AFTER McKnight showed up,_ he reminded Draco sulkily.  
  
_ She followed me in. What's a vapid blond to do?_ Draco asked, smirking and crossing his arms.  
  
Harry sighed.  
  
"What are you setting up?" Ginny asked curiously. She stared at the circle, her eyes widening. "The Binding Circle! But, I thought- When where you going to tell me?" she demanded, throwing herself at Harry and summoning Draco in the same instant. Draco went flying through the air, his expression a mixture of shock and horror, as he crashed into Harry and Ginny, throwing them against the couch.  
  
"OOOOF!" Ginny, can't- breathe," gasped Harry and Draco at the same time. Ginny giggled and relaxed her hold.  
  
"Gin, we were going to surprise you after- OH shit! Mum, what time is it?" Harry gasped, staring entreatingly up at his mother.  
  
"It's ten fifty eight, why?" Lily asked, frowning.  
  
"OHMYGOD! Mr. McKnight's gonna be here any minute!" Harry scrambled to his feet and Apparated to the Great Hall.  
  
Draco and Lily stared at each other in surprise. Finally, Draco stood up, cocking an eyebrow. "And why does Harry need a lawyer?"  
  
  
  
Harry appeared in the middle of the Great Hall and anxiously smoothed his shirt. Why the hell did I wear black mesh on today of all days? he wondered, staring down at his clothing with trepidation. A loud thump coming from the fireplace behind Dumbledore's chair had him turning towards the noise, his questionable attire already forgotten as he hurried up to the fireplace.  
  
Gareth McKnight stood up and straightened out his robes. "Bloody god DAMN Floo, made just to antagonize me!" he muttered. Harry stifled a chuckle.  
  
"Mr. McKnight?" he called brightly, walking forward. The older man turned.  
  
"Ah, Lord Potter!" he smiled, walking forward and extending his hand. Harry instantly shook his hand, grinning as well.  
  
"Mr. McKnight, thank you for coming on such a short notice. We'll have to go to the Room of Requirement, as I want the binding ceremony to be witnessed properly." _Dad, I need you in the Room of Requirement.  
_  
He felt his father look up from the book he was reading in his quarters, a smirk on his face. _Ok, Harry_. He felt James Apparate straight to the Room of Requirement and grinned.  
  
Turning, he led the older wizard through the halls and up the stairs, at last coming to portrait of Bartholomew the Barmy. Walking past it three times, the door appeared and he strode through, McKnight following behind him.  
  
"Mum, Dad, you know Mr. McKnight. Mr. McKnight, these are-"  
  
"Your parents, Lily and James," McKnight gasped, pushing past Harry and enveloping James and then Lily in massive bear hugs. "How- What- Why- Merlin!" he exclaimed, amazed.  
  
They sat on the couch, and James and Lily both hastened to tell their friend and lawyer exactly what had happened to them and how they had returned. Harry, Draco and Ginny reviewed the parts of the Binding Ritual, making sure nothing had been left out. By the time they were finished, it was noon and everyone was feeling a bit hungry.  
  
_Dobby?_ called Harry, mentally searching for the hyperactive house elf.  
  
Dobby appeared suddenly. "Yes, Master Harry Potter? What can Dobby do for Harry Potter?" he asked, bubbling over with excitement.  
  
"Could you bring us some lunch? What's on the menu for today?" Harry asked politely.  
  
Dobby shook with excitement. "Master Harry Potter can have whatever he wants, sir!" he squealed happily.  
  
Harry looked around with amusement. "You guys have any ideas?" he asked with a grin.  
  
"Simple, like sandwiches?" Ginny suggested. Her face brightened. "Oh and I want a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies and brownies and a tall glass of milk, is that all right?" she asked Dobby in a rush.  
  
_How much sugar has she had today? _Draco asked Harry privately.  
  
_Too much is NEVER enough!_ Ginny yelled, bouncing on her seat.  
  
_Does that answer your question?_ Harry asked, rolling his eyes. Dobby left, muttering about making the best lunch for Master Harry Potter.  
  
McKnight stared at them in confusion. "Am I missing something?" he asked, shaking his head.  
  
"Oops, sorry. We're all telepaths and what you missed was the verification that my sister has had WAY too much sugar," Harry explained sagely.  
  
McKnight just shook his head. "Whatever."  
  
Dobby returned with a whole tray full of sandwiches and a mountain of cookies, as well as a gallon of milk and seven glasses, enough for everyone. As soon as they had finished eating, Harry stood up, helping Draco and Ginny to their feet. "It's time, Gin, Draco. Let's do this."  
  
Harry and Draco each grabbed one of Ginny's hands, leading her to the circle. Still holding fast to her hands, they stood just on the edge, calling the magic of the circle around them. They each produced a sharp knife, ready to slash across their palms, but the skin sprang apart magically, to their surprise and consternation. A light breeze picked up in the room as the circle once again sprang into life, and the other four occupants in the room tensed.  
  
"You know, Lily, I don't recall the circle actually forming a physical barrier when we blood bonded," Severus stated seriously. He turned to her, worried. "Are you sure this will be all right?"  
  
Lily looked back at him with trepidation and worry. "I don't know, Sev, I don't know. The only thing I can think of is that all three of them know of their full powers and their abilities are coming into play for this."  
  
"I hope you're right, Lily." They turned back and prepared to witness their son/nephew and future son-in-law/ godson bind themselves as family to Ginny.  
  
Harry, Draco and Ginny began, the two young men much more confident than their soon to be sister.  
  
"Blood to blood," they began, and Severus and Lily watched in silence as their powers suddenly sprang into life, the forest green, icy blue and scarlet/gold whipped around the respective immortals.  
  
"I bind thee to me.  
Heart to heart,  
You are my family."  
  
Ginny fell silent, her eyes glowing pure gold. Draco and Harry continued their eyes both glowing pure silver.  
  
"Always and forever  
I bind myself to you."  
  
At that first line uttered by the two, Harry and Draco's powers merged completely, making them glow silver and white. They continued, oblivious to the changes that were worrying the four adults in the room.  
  
"Through thick and thin  
I bind myself to you. Your brother and protector,"  
  
they chanted, and Ginny's aura started to bleed two different colors on top of her scarlet and gold: forest green and icy blue. The extra colors swirled in and out of her aura, forming candy cane stripes.  
  
Severus turned to an equally shaken Lily. "That DEFINATELY didn't happen when we blood bonded," he remarked in an undertone, clearly worried. She just stared back at him, her eyes dark with concern.  
  
"I bind myself to you.  
One blood, one family  
I bind myself to you."  
  
A strong wind whipped around, emanating from the three of them, blowing the tapestries from the walls and books from the shelves. Lily threw a slight shield around her, James, Severus and Gareth McKnight just in case. As she did that, the walls began to hum with power and vibrate.  
  
"What's going on???!!?!!?" demanded McKnight as he gripped the armrests of his chair hard enough to turn his knuckles white. "Why are they radiating so much power?"  
  
"Watch," Lily advised her face a stony mask.  
  
Harry and Draco fell silent and Ginny took up the chant, the wind and hum growing in intensity with every word.  
  
"I take you as my brothers," she began, and incandescent sparkles filled the air, slowly spiraling towards the three of them and the Binding Circle.  
  
"I bind myself to you.  
I welcome you as family  
I bind myself to you.  
I take the Potter and Malfoy name  
I bind myself to you.  
My family forever  
I bind myself to you."  
  
The sparkles solidified around them, making them difficult to see. Lily and James gasped. "Lily is that-" he broke off, staring at his son, son's soul mate, and now daughter in wonder.  
  
"Oh my- IT IS!" Lily exclaimed, her hand flying over her mouth. She gasped and tears started to fall down her cheeks. "Oh wow, I didn't know She'd be here." They solidified the shield, so McKnight wouldn't explode from the sheer power ripping through the room.  
  
Harry, Ginny and Draco continued, oblivious to everything going on around them.  
  
"Blood to blood,  
I bind thee to me.  
Heart to heart  
You are my family."  
  
They finished, as the wind escalated to impossible speeds. They finally noticed the wind, the humming stones and the spectacular colors surrounding the three of them and gazed in wonder, confused.  
  
Lily was the first to speak. "So witnessed, so mote it be," she stated authoritatively.  
  
James and Severus followed in unison. "So witnessed, so mote it be."  
  
McKnight finished, still confused. "So witnessed, so mote it be!"  
  
A booming, wonderful, beautiful voice echoed him. "SO WITNESSED, SO MOTE IT BE!" Harry, Draco and Ginny gaped as the sparkles solidified even further into a human form, and then features molded onto the face. The form stood in the center of the Circle and held Her arms out.  
  
Harry, Draco and Ginny flew into Her arms, tears of joy streaming down their faces. "Mother," they managed to gasp out. Lily, James and Severus stood up and left the shield and crowded against the edge of the Circle, their faces transfixed.  
  
"MY CHILDREN, MY LOVES, YOUR BINDING WILL ONLY MAKE YOU STRONGER. I GIVE THIS FAMILY," She opened her arms and gaze to include Lily, James and Severus in the word 'family', "MY BLESSING AND PROTECTION AND JOY THAT YOU HAVE FOUND EACH OTHER. STAY TOGETHER AND YOU WITH PREVAIL."  
The form, with one last hug, slowly dissipated, leaving everyone with a sense of loss.  
  
"All right, what was that?" Gareth McKnight demanded, still completely confused. "Who was that?"  
  
"Gareth, you remember when we said that being friends with us would lead to many weird happenings?" James asked, slinging his arm around the confused mortal's shoulders.  
  
"Oh, is this one of those times?" McKnight asked.  
  
"Yes. That was God, and She blessed the blood bond. Do you want any more of an explanation?" Lily asked.  
  
McKnight stared at them. "I think that might have been too much as it was," he mumbled.  
  
Harry laughed. "Mr. McKnight, could you get the paperwork out?" he asked, down to business.  
  
McKnight gladly pulled out his satchel, getting back to familiar ground. "Of course, Young Lord Potter. Here are the documents you requested." He handed Harry a stack of papers almost three inches high.  
  
Harry leafed through them, scanning the pages. "And everything is in order?" he asked.  
  
Lily and James stared at him suspiciously as he handed two documents to each of them. "Mum, Dad, sign these," he instructed, handing three documents to Ginny and six to Draco. "You two need to sign and read those."  
  
Lily gave a whoop of joy and wrapped her son in a bear hug. "James, he's reinstating us as his primary guardians, along with Sirius and Severus!!!! And, he's reinstating us as co owners of the Potter Fortune!" James grinned and ruffled Harry's hair.  
  
"That's not all he's doing," Draco stated, staring at Harry in shock. "He's added me-"  
  
Ginny interrupted. "And me!"  
  
"- to have access to any and all Vaults at any time. Harry are you sure about this?" Draco asked a smile ghosting across his face.  
  
Harry shrugged. "You're my soul mate. As soon as we complete the bond, we're as good as married."  
  
Draco gulped and gave a weak smile. "I hadn't thought of it that way."  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. "Yeah, figures." He bent over the stack of forms left in his possession and began signing documents.  
  
Lily looked at him curiously. "What are those?" she asked.  
  
"Well, you know how Sirius fell through the Veil?" Harry asked absently.  
  
"Yeah, that's one of two reasons why we're going in there!" James answered.  
  
"Well, they thought he was dead so they read his will and everything," Harry answered, signing the last document. "There, it's official. All I need is Draco to sign here and it'll be done. You really don't want Black Manor, do you?" he asked his soul mate.  
  
Draco snickered and took the quill. "No one has lived there in over twenty years. Like hell I'd EVER set foot in it." he signed on the dotted line.  
  
"Harry, what are you doing?" Lily demanded.  
  
"Oh, nothing just remade the Black Fortune and put the titles to Black Manor and the Black Summer Villa in France back to Siri's name. I hope you don't mind."  
  
James jumped into the bear hung and almost squeezed the life out of his son. "Harry, have I told you yet today how much I love you?" he asked, grinning like a madman.  
  
Severus snickered quietly. "He's giving away YOUR money, Potter."  
  
"Three words, Snape: Thirty Billion Galleons." Severus stared at Harry and his parents, realizing the enormity of that amount.  
  
That wouldn't even make a dent in that, Severus mused quietly.  
  
Duh, that's why I did it. I've got the cash to spare and Siri isn't dead, so it isn't a problem. Harry handed the documents back to McKnight. "Could you file the recreation of Sirius's bank account and properties before you turn control over to my parents?" Harry asked.  
  
"Sure, Young-"  
  
"Harry, please. Just Harry." Harry interrupted, getting sick of the 'Lord' crap.  
  
"Of course Harry." McKnight packed his satchel, their business finished. "As much as I would love to stay longer and catch up with you two," the lawyer nodded to James and Lily, "I have an appointment in an hour with the Tokyo representatives of our firm."  
  
James and Lily led him back to the Great Hall, Harry, Draco, Ginny, and Severus following behind them.  
  
  
  
Later on that night, Claudette and Lucas arrived along with two Vampire and two Drow advisors. As soon as they had exchanged pleasantries with Alanna and Xander and had been shown to their rooms, Elei'n and Anowyn had arrived, along with four Elvin counselors of their own. They were shown to their rooms as well.  
  
Harry quickly approached Alanna. "I don't mean to be rude, but why's everyone here? Did I miss something?"  
  
Alanna walked forward, welcoming Xavier and Samantha, the Lukoi and Lupa of the Werewolves, and, surprisingly, Argonne Lupa, the Slytherin first year. Harry showed them to the rooms that had been prepared for them, thinking furiously. "Argonne, why are you back here so soon?" he asked as they walked down the hallway.  
  
"These are my grandparents," she answered simply. "They are my guardians also since my parents died."  
  
As soon as he had gotten back, Alanna pulled him aside. "We're now in the planning stage," she whispered. He gaped at her and walked back over to the Entrance, schooling his features into a small smile.  
  
Tatyana and Orion strode through the door, four Veela trailing behind them. Rowan showed them to their rooms, chatting pleasantly the entire way.  
  
Byron and Havanna, the Dragonkin Emperor and Empress, landed on the front lawn and that point. Alanna walked outside to greet them, and returned inside with a young man who looked suspiciously like an exact combination of Alanna and Xander. He was accompanies be a young woman with fire red hair.  
  
Lorien and Shareena arrived last, flying directly into the Entrance and landing lightly. They were followed by four of their entourage. Harry secretly doubted that they were counselors of any kind, particularly as one kept fixing Shareena's train and another kept trying to smooth Lorien's hair. Alanna sighed as she walked them to their rooms, muttering mentally, _I TOLD them to bring trustworthy advisors and who do they bring? Their personal groomers!  
_  
Harry snickered and they all Apparated to their respective quarters, ready to go to sleep. "So, Draco, am I still sleeping on the couch?" Harry teased as he lay down on his bed.  
  
Draco huffed, and turned around, grinning. "Nope, cuz vapid blondes have short attention spans." Happily, Draco crawled into bed next to Harry and they wrapped their arms and minds around each other, ensuring peaceful dreams.  
  
  
  
The next morning, everyone woke early, anxious to start the meetings and planning. Harry, Draco, Ginny, Emily, Eric, Blaise, Seamus, Neville, and Luna all arrived in the Great Hall together, sitting at their usual place. To their surprise, EVERYONE joined them, from the other demigods to even the teachers. Dumbledore himself forgo the comfort of the Teacher's table, his eyes twinkling madly. One by one, the Order of the Phoenix members trickled into the Hall and took seats around the Slytherin Tables as well.  
  
As soon as everyone was seated, Alanna stood up. "All right, settle down everyone. I promise to make this as quick and painless as possible. Now then- HEY! We're missing some important people!"  
  
At that, the doors flew open and eleven men strode through, all in U.S. Military fatigues. Emily stood up, grinning. "DADDY!!" she shrieked and ran to the doors. "YOU MADE IT!!!!!!!" The lead man grabbed her around the waist and slung her into his arms.  
  
"Of course I made it, Emily. We're training everyone, so we are rather important," the tall stranger said with a grin. He put her back down and she took his hand, pulling him to the table.  
  
Alanna walked over. "Commander George, thank you for taking time out of your schedule to talk to us and help us with our planning." She and the Commander shook hands.  
  
"No problem, Alanna. I'm only glad we can help you, although I have no idea how our knowledge is of any relevance." With a hand motion, the newcomers walked over to the table and sat down, intermingling amongst the already seated people.  
  
"You see, Commander George, while we are all very powerful, we've never fought a battle on such a large scale before, much less going in without being detected to do a rapid extrication. All the nations you see here are either peaceful or united against one common enemy. Battles don't happen very often in the magical world and when they do, they're short, bloody, and over almost before we know it," Claudette stated simply. "I think I speak for all of us when I say that you have the expertise here, not us." A rush of nods and murmurs ran up and down the table.  
  
Even Dumbledore was forced to agree with her statements. "While we have had issues with Voldemort here in Britain, he's one man and his followers are few. We only really know how to clean up after his messes, not plan a full scale attack," he conceded from his seat next to McGonagall.  
  
"All right, then what do we have to work with?" Commander George asked thoughtfully.  
  
Claudette thought for a minute. "You have three hundred of my best Drow and three hundred fifty Vampires."  
  
Lorien did some quick calculations. "You have two hundred and fifty of the Fae."  
  
Byron went next. "You have as many of the Dragons as you need."  
  
Commander George raised a hand. "Um, not to be rude or anything, but how do we train Dragons in human maneuvers?"  
  
Byron sat there, stumped. Harry raised a hand. "Well, if Emperor Byron can change form, then can't the other Dragons?"  
  
Byron grinned. "Not exactly, Harry. I'm a full Demigod, just remaining immortal on earth. Havanna is as well. We can shift, but our children cannot."  
  
Harry put his hand back down. "Oh."  
  
Alanna thought for a minute. "Well, they can do attack formations and some of the demons are that large, so it should work out. We'll think of something."  
  
Tatyana spoke up. "You have four hundred Veela at your disposal."  
  
Xavier leaned his head down to his granddaughter. She whispered something in his ear and he nodded. "My Heir has a valid point. How are we going to be trained? Pledging people is all and good, but let's be realistic here. How do you plan on getting all of us trained?"  
  
Commander George sat back and thought. "Well, I could call for more SEAL teams. We aren't the only one, you know. There are at least fifty more."  
  
"So we'd get a SEAL team per nation?" Anowyn asked.  
  
"As well as two of our own so that we can fine tune powers and such," Alanna stated simply.  
  
Elei'n's eyes widened. "All right, then, I pledge four hundred of my best to be trained."  
  
Xavier spoke up again. "And I four hundred as well."  
  
"All right, that settles that. Now, onto the planning." Alanna gestured to the Vampires, Drow and Werewolves to begin.  
  
Claudette's four Advisors pulled out maps, diagrams, and twelve scale models of the different worlds. The werewolves brought out models, diagrams and reports on each kind of Demon, Wraith, and prototypes Clautius had created or was thinking of creating. Outlined in the reports were powers, abilities, and anything noteworthy of their foes.  
  
They spent several hours going over the exact layout of the planets, as well as where Laurel was being kept, as well as Sirius's location at any given moment. Harry and his friends paid rapt attention, regardless of the disapproving looks the Order members and other teachers, Severus and Remus not included, shot their way every other sentence.  
  
"Alanna, not to interrupt or anything, but why are the children here?" Professor Sprout finally asked about four hours into the planning.  
  
"Because we have a right to know what is going on!" Seamus yelled, his face contorted in an angry sneer.  
  
"You're sixteen! What are you going to contribute, Mr. Finnegan?" McGonagall asked crossly.  
  
"ENOUGH!" Alanna yelled, extremely angry. She stood up, going into lecture mode. "Age doesn't matter. At this point, any help or insight is welcome! Harry and Draco are sixteen and they are going to play an integral part of what is going on! Even if the others do not participate in the all out assault, they are going to be indispensable for healing and anything else we can think of!"  
  
Harry snickered. Draco elbowed him, but he kept laughing, until he was doubled over, wheezing.  
  
Gaila reached over and grabbed his shoulder. "Harry, why are you laughing?"  
  
"This is SO ridiculous!" he gasped, still shaking. Alanna frowned at him. Waving a hand, Harry continued. "Here we are, arguing about the stupidest of things when two people's lives hang in the balance! Yeah, me and Draco are going to be part of the extrication. Yes, everyone else in indispensable. Why can't you people see that?" he asked, suddenly extremely serious. He stared at Dumbledore, McGonagall, Sprout, Sinistera, and all the other Order members. His eyes, cold as emeralds, cut into each of them until they looked away, ashamed. Only Dumbledore met his gaze steadily. Neither of them looked away, unwilling to admit defeat.  
  
Alanna shook her head, and stood up. Harry tore his eyes from the twinkling, challenging, and ice blue gaze and looked at his oldest sister expectantly. "Harry has a point. The Order is not in charge here, Xander, Harry, Draco and I are."  
  
Harry endured the whispers that broke out, just barely. "Lana, did you have to tell them?" he asked quietly.  
  
"Harry, you're our champion. That means that you will have a final say in everything we do. Draco is your soul mate and our other Champion, which gives him a say as well," Alanna explained patiently.  
  
"Does anyone have a problem with that?" Xander asked, staring at each person in turn. Everyone shook their heads.  
  
"Good, then let's continue. Harry, what seems to be the best way to get to Laurel and Sirius, in your opinion?" Alanna asked.  
  
Harry and Draco put their heads together briefly. _Go in and get out seems the best, you know. Six of us should be able to do it, provided we aren't caught,_ Harry thought.  
  
Draco pondered this. _Right, I agree. You, me, Uncle Sev, definitely Alanna and Xander and your dad would do it.  
_  
Harry spoke aloud. "I think Alanna, Xander, Draco, my Dad, Uncle Sev and I could go in at the portal in the Department of Mysteries. We could get to the other Portals using as little magic as possible and go into Clautius's realm to rescue Laurel. Our contacts can inform Sirius of when we will be there, and he can get out with us. I'm thinking we'll need invisibility cloaks as well as some specific potions. Anything anyone can contribute?"  
  
Ginny sat for a moment, thinking. She had something to contribute, but then it would give away the Christmas present she had thought of... oh well. "I think you need something that is impervious to Demon magic, Harry," she said firmly.  
  
Xander blinked. "Good point, Ginny. Does anyone have any idea on how to do that?"  
  
"I'm working on something, but I make no promises," Ginny spoke up again.  
  
"All right, then the main rescue attempt will happen from here," Commander George said, putting an X on the diagram of one of the planets. "That makes it almost ten kilometers to reach the necessary portals. At that time, based on information to the movements of Sirius and where he will be, the team will split up. Harry, Draco and Severus will go after Laurel, with that being their specific goal. Alanna, Xander and James will rendezvous with Sirius Black and lead him to the portal. From there, they will get to ANY of the three safe portals that lead out of Clautius's realm, and wherever they land will be dealt with accordingly."  
  
"Where are these portals again and where do they lead?" Draco asked wearily.  
  
Xander pointed to the three portals in blue. "This one is the portal from the Department of Mysteries, this one leads from the Werewolves' palace, and this last one leads directly to Claudette's palace. They all lead onto the way-station world, the one that houses all the portals to Clautius's eleven other planets. From there, there are eleven inter-planet portals, which take you to the different worlds. Of the eleven, five are to the main worlds, each run by one of Clautius's sons or the main man himself. Don't get confused. We don't need you getting lost."  
  
"All right, the second wave," Commander George continued, "will start from the three portals. We can expand the portals with magic, so that entire companies can move in at once. We will have groups of probably twenty at most, as we are training you in the SEAL training. If the first group needs help, it will be a no holds barred, everyone goes sort of deal. No holding back, and we attack only to ensure that the six of them as well as the two POWs are returned safely. Also, magic of all forms will be used, as the second assault will have no reason to hide. Anything added?"  
  
Harry raised a hand. "I think that Gaila and Olivia would be best to be heading such an organization as well as yourself."  
  
Lily stood up. "Where do I fit in?" she asked, annoyed. "I'm pregnant, not an invalid!"  
  
"Mum, you and Ginny would be part of the second wave. I doubt that anyone could keep you from coming after us at any rate," Harry said thoughtfully.  
  
"It's settled, then," Alanna said briskly. "The six of us are the first wave, the ones mentioned are the second wave, which includes Gaila, Olivia, Lily, Ginny, and Commander George directing the troops, and everyone else, as well as any healers we can find, are on healing detail."  
  
"That sounds like a plan. I'll call in the rest of the teams then and we'll be on our way," Commander George stated as he stood up and walked out of the Hall. He came back in two minutes later with sixty Navy SEALS, each standing in groups of ten. "McAllister, take your team and go to specifically the Vampires," he directed. A group strode as one over to Claudette.  
  
One by one, the teams received their assignments. Only Commander George remained. "I'll train the Hogwarts group personally," he said with a decidedly evil grin. Harry and Draco gulped.  
  
_ That doesn't sound good,_ they thought in unison nervously.  
  
"Sal, Gryf, you go with the Fae group, Rowan and Gabrielle, you are with the werewolves. Olivia and Michael will take the high elves and Veela, Gaila and Raphael will take the Drow and Vampires, and Damien and Nicholai will take the Dragons. Everyone, I expect weekly reports and I'll see you the last week of March for any additional information, and we'll attack April first."  
  
_HOT DAMN!!!!_ thought Olivia and Gaila eagerly. _So many gorgeous guys, so little time!!!!!! First the training, then the fighting, THEN THE ORGY!!!!!!  
_  
Harry and Draco gaped and started giggling. Michael and Raphael looked rather annoyed. _NO ORGY!_ Gaila and Olivia's soul mates thought in unison.  
  
_ Damnit! What if you two joined in?_ Olivia thought mischievously.  
  
Both guys grinned and nodded. Harry and Draco stared at them, wide eyed.  
  
One by one, the different leaders of the world's magical nations left, their SEAL teams and Demigod instructors in tow.  
  
Harry turned to Draco. "Well, since it's only 4:30 in the afternoon, what do you want to do?"  
  
Blaise and Seamus spoke up. "Well, since Damien and Nicholai have left," Seamus started.  
  
"Maybe we should practice with the team," Blaise finished.  
  
They ended together, "seeing as we're the new Beaters and all."  
  
At that, the entire team grinned and rushed out to the Pitch, the adults following them. They spent the rest of the day getting Blaise and Seamus up to par and used to the game link.  
  
  
  
The next morning, Harry and Draco were sitting at the table eating breakfast with Ginny, Lily, James, Remus and Severus when the doors to Hogwarts burst open. "I DEMAND TO SEE MY SON!" the unmistakable voice of Lucius Malfoy bellowed through the silence. They could hear Dumbledore's normally calm voice bellowing back at the school Governor.  
  
Draco jumped up, a mix of terror and fury blasting into Harry's mind. _DAMN IT!! Draco! Calm down!_ Harry ordered, sending waves of peace and calm to his soul mate. If anything, it made Draco angrier.  
  
_He tried to KILL me, Harry. Stop trying to calm me down!_ Draco replied, furious. Lucius Malfoy, at that moment, strode into the Great Hall.  
  
"Draco. You will cease this foolishness and come home where you belong," he ordered sternly, standing in front of the group of students seated at the Slytherin Tables.  
  
"What foolishness?" Draco asked calmly, his narrowed eyes the only indication that he was anything BUT calm.  
  
"This foolishness of playing house with a Gryffindor, abandoning your true family, and binding yourself to a WEASELEY! Come home, Draconis, or you will no longer HAVE a home!" Lucius's normally cold, impassive face twisted into a sneer and his cheeks turned red.  
  
Ginny, Severus and Harry stood up, furious. "You know, Malfoy," Harry started pleasantly, watching Lucius's face turn even more scarlet, "you really should choose your battles more wisely. You're sorely outclassed here, yet you storm in, making threats to some of the most powerful, most wealthy people in the Wizarding World."  
  
Draco stared at Harry, amusement plain on his face. _You really know how to tick people off, don't you?_ he asked wryly, his anger slightly fading.  
  
_I only learned from the best, Love,_ Harry responded with a grin.  
  
"It doesn't matter if you disown Draco or not, Malfoy," Severus continued pleasantly. "You see, Harry and he have already stated their intentions to bond, and as such Harry has added him as someone who can access the Potter Vaults. You know how much money Harry is worth. Somewhere in the neighborhood of thirty one billion Galleons?" he asked, directed to Harry.  
  
Harry grinned. "Closer to thirty five after interest," he admitted, smirking. "It's enough that we could buy several small countries and have billions left to play with. So, you see, Malfoy, Draco doesn't need you."  
  
Lucius stared at Draco and Harry, trying to regain his composure. " You- you – you-" he stuttered, his eyes bulging out of their sockets.  
  
"Yes? Do spit it out. We haven't got all day," Ginny chimed in haughtily. Harry turned away and snickered almost silently.  
  
Lucius raised his wand threateningly. "You WILL come home, Draco, and you will do so right now."  
  
Draco stared at his father incredulously. "Did nothing that happened over the summer retain in your memory? You tried to kill me and I blocked the Killing Curse. You cannot order me around. What happened to you, Father? Why'd you change?" Draco asked wistfully, staring at Lucius with concern.  
  
"Nothing happened to me, boy! I finally realized the true way to act with traitors!" Lucius shouted back, his face twisting into a sneer.  
  
Draco took a step back, his face set. "Very well, Father," he sneered. "I will be returning home, if only to ensure my mother's safety. God only knows what you have done to her in my absence. Harry?"  
  
Harry and Draco stood and Apparated immediately, leaving a stunned Lucius and snickering Ginny and Severus in their wake.  
  
They arrived in the entrance hall of the Manor. "Mother!" yelled Draco impatiently.  
  
"Draconis! Your father convinced you to come home for Christmas, then?" Narcissa asked, gliding into the Hall. She stopped when she saw Harry. "You didn't tell me we would be having guests, Lucius," she scolded gently over the teens' shoulders.  
  
Harry and Draco turned to see Lucius walking through the front door, his cane clicking on the stone tiles. "I didn't say I would be bringing guests, Narcissa," he answered stiffly, his face a mask. "The damn brat decided to tag along."  
  
"Lucius, please control yourself. 'That damn brat' as you call him is the richest wizard in the world and our son's soul mate," Narcissa said with a smile. "Welcome to our home," she greeted Harry.  
  
"Mum, what is he doing here?" Draco asked with exasperation. "Don't tell me you let him come home after what he did to you."  
  
Narcissa scowled. "He is your father and my husband. He apologized and I let him come back. End of discussion."  
  
"Fine, whatever," Draco muttered. He turned to his father. "If you EVER hurt her again, I swear I'll-"  
  
"You'll do what, you brat? Nothing. I am master of this house and I will do as I please," Lucius thundered, ignoring Narcissa's scowl. He strode over to his son and towered over him.  
  
Harry had had enough. "Listen, Malfoy, don't threaten my soul mate!" he growled, coming between Draco and his father.  
  
Draco rolled his eyes. _Possessive much?_ he asked, standing next to Harry.  
  
_Sorry, but you're a little too emotional to deal levelheadedly with this,_ Harry reminded him.  
  
_And you are?  
_  
"Will you show some proper respect? I am LORD MALFOY, not just Malfoy!" Lucius bellowed, his face purple.  
  
Harry and Draco stared at each other, grinning. _Should we? It would be fun!_ Harry asked.  
  
"WHAT IS SO BLOODY FUNNY????" Lucius screamed.  
  
"Lucius! Language!" Narcissa remarked calmly. He ignored her.  
  
_We should,_ Draco thought.  
  
"Well, LORD Malfoy, if we are going by titles, then why aren't you on the floor, begging for forgiveness?" Harry asked idly.  
  
"WHAT?????"  
  
Well, we BOTH are demigods, so a little 'Your Eminence', or 'My God' at the very LEAST is in order," Draco drawled.  
  
Lucius turned four shades of red and purple, his mouth working furiously. Behind him, Narcissa snickered before composing herself. Harry grinned at her and she swept from the hall, still chuckling.  
  
"YOU- YOU'RE WHAT???????" Lucius roared, finally able to talk.  
  
"We're demigods. What part of that don't you understand?" Harry asked, treating Lucius as if he were stupid.  
  
Draco sniggered, holding his stomach from the effort of not laughing. "Father, we have more power in our little fingers than Voldemort has in his entire body!" Draco gasped, finally succumbing to laughter.  
  
Lucius stared at them. "Wha---" he managed to gasp.  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. "I guess we'll have to show him, then." Raising his hand, he linked his fingers with Draco's and they effortlessly raised their auras. Narcissa walked back in just in time to feel a gale force wind whip through the entrance hall, slamming Lucius into the door. He fell to his knees and the earth bucked and heaved. He fell, prostrate, to the ground, trying to find purchase in the heaving and roiling earth.  
  
Narcissa watched from the doorway as just the front hall was affected. "Oh my, they HAVE learned control! Excellent! Good show, my son." She turned and left.  
  
Harry and Draco stopped the impressive display of power, one that had used up one one-billionth of their separate abilities. _Think that did it?_ Draco asked hopefully.  
  
Lucius stood up shaking, staring at his son as if he had never seen him before. "Are you sure you're my Draconis?" he asked shrewdly.  
  
Draco rolled his eyes. "Yes, Father, I am your son Draco." Lucius stared at him and shook his head.  
  
"Well, my Lord- AAARGH!!!!!" the older man yelled, clasping his temples in agony. "My son," he gasped, tears leaking form his eyes. "Get out of here, it's a setup, Voldemort and Clautius are coming, go, I love you." He screamed again in pain.  
  
Harry and Draco stared at him. "FATHER????" Draco yelled, covering the elder Malfoy's hands with his own. Angrily, they pushed into Lucius's mind and felt absolute evil radiating back, controlling every movement, every word, locking him inside his own mind as a prisoner.  
  
Stunned, they flew from his mind. Lucius stared back at them coolly, the evil once again controlling him. "Father, don't worry. We will get you out of there," Draco promised. With that, they Apparated back to Hogwarts, missing Clautius by minutes.  
  
A scream of rage could be heard echoing from Malfoy Manor until the early hours of the morning.  
  
Alone in his mind, Lucius Malfoy wept bitter tears and felt, for the first time since his release from Azkaban, when Clautius, through his creation- the Dementors- had taken over his body, a ray of hope. _Give 'em hell, son_.  
  
  
  
A/N: DUN DUN DUN! Yay! A new chapter and the replacement of the Author's note! Thanks again to everyone who responded! You are all wonderful! 


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: THANK YOU AGAIN to everyone who wrote back in my moment of crisis!!!!! I got seven copies of chapter 4, so now I have one and have rectified the situation. So, I NOW HAVE all chapters and have them on two separate CDs, one for me, one for my final beta, who is almost done with chapter 11. So, thank you again and enjoy the chapter!!!!  
  
Oh yeah, not much happened last chapter for a very good reason: I think they deserved a rest and for ONCE something really good happening to them, don't ya think? Oh and the binding ritual I actually found most of it in a Wiccan spell book, so if you didn't like it, oh well. It's the real deal....  
  
Goldenserpent: Maybe.... I'm not telling ;)  
  
Vividian:... Thanks a lot, I feel so good now that you called a chapter I worked really hard on 'boring'... But, don't they deserve a sort of boring day considering all the shit I'm about to put them through (and have put them through?)  
  
Dragenphly, texasjeanette, silverdreams: Thank you for renewing my confidence, and thanks for the praise. At least SOME people like my writing. "sniff". Just kidding, Vividian. You know I think you're cool.  
  
Chapter 26  
  
Harry and Draco appeared in the Great Hall. "Oh shit," Draco swore tiredly.  
  
"Exactly," Harry said, exhausted and sickened by what he had felt. He wrapped his arms around his soul mate, shaking his head. "Don't worry, Dray. We'll get him out of there," Harry promised.  
  
Draco looked him in the eye. "Really, Harry? How can we fight that? We ran from it!" He pulled out of Harry's arms, pacing back and forth. "We just fucking RAN! We could have taken him on, but we ran!"  
  
A single tear streaked down Draco's face. "We left him there, Harry. That's my FATHER and he's suffering and a prisoner and we left him there!"  
  
_ Uncle Sev, you need to get here now,_ Harry called anxiously as he wrapped his arms around Draco's shaking form.  
  
Severus appeared next to him, Ginny in tow. "What- Draco!" he yelped, pulling the two of them into a hug. "What's going on?"  
  
Almost hysterical, Draco dumped the entirety of what had just happened onto his godfather. Severus's face turned bone white and he stared at Harry, his mouth trembling. Harry? he asked weakly, amazed to feel tears starting at the corner of his eyes. _What- I don't understand. What is that? What did you feel?  
_  
Harry only needed one word. "Clautius," he growled, holding Draco in his arms. Severus sagged slightly, sitting down on the nearest thing- the Ravenclaw bench.  
  
"How- what- how are you going to help Lucius?" Severus finally asked, stumbling over the words. _One of my oldest friends- we were friends before Hogwarts, and before I even MET Lily- and he's being hurt. What do we do?  
_  
"I don't know," Harry admitted. "Somehow we need to lock him out of Lucius's mind and set up shields, but Clautius is too damn powerful. Do you think we could do the same thing we did for Laurel to him?" Harry asked suddenly, hit with inspiration.  
  
"That might work, but it would have to be a mental shield put into his mind, not a physical shield." Severus stood up, debating the finer points of the idea out loud.  
  
"Harry, I feel horrible," Draco whispered, several more tears making their way down his face. "I've hated him since you came and rescued me when I should have KNOWN! He's my FATHER and I didn't even know! I didn't even think that he was acting differently, and he's been imprisoned, and Clautius had been calling the shots since he came home! How could I miss that?" Harry shuddered and Apparated them straight back to their room. For hours he held his soul mate, letting him cry out his frustrations and terror.  
  
_ Love, I promise, we will get him back, _Harry assured him over and over. At last, he fell into an exhausted sleep. Harry sat up all night, just watching over him.  
  
  
  
While he didn't particularly feel like getting into the Christmas spirit, the next day, Harry was determined to find the perfect gifts for his adopted and real family. Making mumbled excuses to Draco and Ginny, he Apparated to Hogsmeade and began avidly shopping. Three hours later, he had exhausted the stores and was no closer to finding anything for anyone, with the exception of Seamus! For his housemate he had bought the Magical Kama Sutra, as a gag gift. But, he had no luck with anyone else! _This is ridiculous!_ he snapped wearily, sitting in The Three Broomsticks, nursing a Butterbeer.  
  
_What is?_ Draco asked, walking in and joining him.  
  
_I can't find anything for anyone for Christmas! _he wailed mentally. Checking himself, he asked, concerned, _Are you all right?  
  
_ Draco snickered, shrugging. _I'll survive. Well, what did you have in mind?_ he asked good naturedly.  
  
Harry frowned. _I already have an idea for everyone, but I can't find what I'm looking for_. Harry suddenly slapped his forehead. _Duh! Demigod, I'll just MAKE it all!_ He drained his Butterbeer in one gulp and, leaving five sickles on the table, Apparated straight back to Hogwarts.  
  
Draco shook his head, grinning slightly. _Bottoms up_! he thought dourly as he finished his Butterbeer, his anger and frustration returning full force. _Bitching about it isn't going to help Father any, _he thought with a grimace. Placing five sickles next to Harry's money, he Apparated as well.  
  
  
  
Harry sat in the Chamber of Secrets, diligently working on his Christmas gifts. "Ok," he mused aloud. "List, check. Gift basics, check. Wrapped gift for Seamus, check." Harry read over the list once more, frowning slightly.  
  
"All right, for Draco.... I think a pair of miniature dragons should do it. Now, to make them...." Harry concentrated, focusing his magic on the space between his hands. A silver and scarlet dragon roughly the size of a small owl appeared, fast asleep. (Everyone together: AWWWWW)  
  
Draco decided to poke his mind in, checking up on Harry. _Hey, Love, what are you doing? _Harry panicked.  
  
_ Out out out out!_ Harry shoved Draco from his consciousness._ I'm doing Christmas presents!  
_  
Draco pouted, but Harry ignored him and put up a slight shield. _Nope, not coming in, he thought firmly._ Draco pouted some more, and Harry started to giggle. _You're so CUTE when you do that! _he sent his soul mate. Draco glared at him and retreated, sulking.  
  
Harry stared down at his creation, smiling. Draco's going to love this. Gentle puffs of smoke wafted from his- definitely a little boy- nostrils. Grinning, Harry conjured a pillow and set the tiny dragon on top of it. "And to think that it will only double in size by the time it's full grown, making it the perfect size for a pet." Concentrating again, he created a female version in green and gold. He placed them both in the magical cage with Isis, who promised to look after the infants until the morning of the 25th.  
  
_And,_ Harry thought, _the second part of Draco's gift in the planning stages. I'm sure that, if I set this up right, I can get us to a place where we can bond. All right, note to self: Find a spot at least 100,000,000 light years away from any civilizations and set up a place that isn't too shabby..._ he blanked out for a minute, fantasizing.  
  
He sat still afterwards, dragging his mind out of the gutter. "Hmmm, Ginny," he mused, picturing exactly what he wanted for his sister. Two velvet cloaks appeared: one black and one deep crimson. He put a viridian silk lining in the black and a silver satin lining in the crimson, adding silver clasps to both. "She's probably going to wear these everywhere if I know her so..." he added an all weather impervious charm to both. He stepped back and looked them over, satisfied. They wrapped themselves in a big box with a red silk ribbon.  
  
"Now, for Luna... oh yeah!" he focused his magic, creating two miniature Icy Sanddragons, one blue, the other pink. The tiny wingless dragons walked around the room regally, looking for some sand to curl up in. Trails of glistening ice followed them, covering the floors. "All right, now where to put them..." he trailed off, scratching his head. Would Isis be upset?  
  
He poked his head into Isis's cage, searching for his cobra. "Issssssissssss?" he asked hopefully. Beside him, the two Sanddragons flopped into the cage, falling onto the sand. Immediately, they curled up into little balls, yawning heavily. Within seconds, they were asleep, curled around each other on sandy blocks of ice. Isis slithered up, staring at them.  
  
"More petsssssss?" she hissed, staring at the newcomers curiously. "Masssster, thossssssse ssssmell funny. And why are they covered in icssssse?"  
  
"They're an invention of a friend, and I made them real for her," Harry explained.  
  
"Oh. Sssssso long asssssss they don't freeze my ssssssand dunessssss too much. It'ssssss only for two sssssunsssss, right?"  
  
"Yessssss. Thank you, Issssssisssss." Harry popped back out of the magical cage, stretching his back.  
  
"Hmmmm, what to get for Professor Lu- I mean Remus- I have to remember that he wants me to call him that."  
  
_Hey, Draco, where was the Founder's Hall?_ Harry asked Draco, opening the connection between them. Waves of frustration and anger washed over him and he bit back a grin. Oh yes, Draco was most definitely sulking.  
  
_Draaaacoooo,_ Harry drew out his soul mate's name, feeling Draco snort and cover a grin. _I'll be damned if I let you stay angry at me for having the time, patience, and caring to make you a Christmas present.  
  
_ _Hmmmph._ Draco shut Harry out, pouting. _You promised we'd never put up shields between each other again.  
_  
_Christmas doesn't count!_ Harry protested. _Come on, where was the frigging Hall? He Apparated right next to Draco._ Draco jumped a foot in the air, looking peeved.  
  
"Don't DO that!" Draco snapped, glaring daggers at Harry.  
  
"I won't do it anymore if you tell me where the fucking Founder's Hall is!" Harry protested, snickering.  
  
Draco turned around in a huff, scowling. Harry got an evil glint in his eye.  
  
WHAM! Harry tackled Draco, taking him to the floor. "Wha-- HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! GET OFF, POTHEAD!!" Draco shrieked at the top of his lungs, laughing breathlessly as Harry's nimble fingers attacked his ribs mercilessly, tickling him.  
  
"Where's the Hall?" Harry demanded. Breathless giggles were his only answer. Draco managed to flip Harry over, and rolled on top of him, attacking his attacker with vigor.  
  
It was Harry's turn to laugh and wriggle away from his soul mate, to no avail. "Dra- hahahahHAHAHA- Draco, stop! I - OH NO YOU DON'T!" Harry flipped Draco over and they continued to roll across the floor. Finally, Harry pinned Draco to the floor, straddling his pelvis, still giggling. He didn't realize that Draco had gone completely still, his eyes hazed with lust.  
  
Harry looked down when he felt something poking him and realized that his position was having an interesting effect on his soul mate, if the pure, unadulterated desire radiating off of him was any indication. "Oh, oops," Harry muttered, sliding off of Draco. He sat next to Draco, who was breathing rather heavily. "Are you all right?"  
  
Draco looked up and said, "I will be once I do this," and pounced on him, flipping Harry over and straddling him. He leaned down, ghosting his lips over his shocked soul mate.  
  
"Draco..." Harry trailed off as Draco's lips captured his own in a searing kiss, slowly rotating and grinding their hips together. "Draco..." Harry moaned, his breath coming in short gasps. Draco smiled devilishly down at him.  
  
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?????" came the shocked and scandalized yelp behind them. They shot into a sitting position, Draco still straddling Harry's lap, to see Severus standing in the doorway.  
  
"Ummm yes?" Harry asked. Draco, should we? he asked Draco privately. Draco grinned and nodded.  
  
"You two- we haven't figured out how to keep the planet from exploding!" Severus snapped, glaring down at them. Harry and Draco counted to three, and leapt up, tackling the startled professor. "WHAT THE - AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! STOP!!!!!!!" he gasped, tears falling down his face as the two of them knocked him to the ground and pinned him, tickling him without mercy.  
  
"THIS IS FOR INTERUPTING US, SEVVIE!!!!" Draco howled, laughing insanely. Harry snickered, holding Severus's arms, pinning him to the floor as Draco attacked his ribs and stomach. Severus twisted and wriggled, trying to escape. Finally, he threw them off of him and lay in the fetal position on the floor, still laughing and holding his chest and stomach. "Oh.... I think you broke a rib," he gasped, struggling into a sitting position.  
  
Laurel grinned impishly in the back of his mind. _Want me to kiss it and make it better?_ she asked, running phantom fingers up and down the hurt areas. Poor Baby, she cooed, her hands traveling lower. Severus stiffened, his cheeks turning pink. Harry and Draco watched, disbelieving as he stuttered incoherent syllables and Apparated immediately.  
  
"What just happened?" Harry asked, confused.  
  
Draco shook his head, grinning. "Laurel," he said, explaining it all.  
  
Harry's face scrunched up. "EWWWW! I did NOT need to think about that!" he moaned, resting his head on Draco's lap. _Come on, Draco, show me the Founder's Hall, please????  
_  
_ Fine, but you owe me one,_ Draco muttered. Harry sent him an image of exactly how he'd repay him, and Draco blushed crimson. _Let's go_.  
  
They Apparated to the Fourth Floor, right in front of the painting. _Well, here it is. Gonna pay me back now? _Draco asked impishly. Harry turned Draco around to face him and slowly brushed a stand of hair away from his face, leaning in.  
  
_Yes,_ Harry ghosted over his lips and gently sucked on the bottom one, begging for entrance. With a gasp, Draco opened his mouth, grabbing the front of Harry's viridian silk button down shirt. Harry gently slid his tongue into Draco's mouth, making him purr with pleasure. Taking a step backwards, still locked at the lips to his soul mate, Harry stepped into the painting, taking Draco with him.  
  
They found themselves in the same long hallway Draco had stumbled into. Breaking the kiss, Draco led Harry into Salazar Slytherin's old quarters. "I found the journal here, lying on the table. It was so weird, almost as if it were waiting for me," Draco explained.  
  
Harry's brow furrowed. "Were you thinking anything?" he asked suspiciously.  
  
"Yeah, that I wanted to help you. That's how I found the painting and I think how it let me in." Draco walked over to the bookshelf and studied the titles avidly.  
  
"What do you mean- let you in?" Harry asked, confused.  
  
"It was strange the first time- almost as if something was appraising me as I went through the painting and didn't let me enter until it knew I posed no harm," Draco said absently, finding another Potions Journal and leafing through it. "What are you looking for?"  
  
"Weird. I didn't feel anything when we went through just now," Harry muttered.  
  
"I know, me either. I think it likes you."  
  
"Or maybe just because I'm a direct heir and you're not," Harry mused.  
  
"So, what are you looking for?" Draco asked again.  
  
"I know there's the original Wolfsbane potion in the first journal you found and it said to see volume two page three sixty for a cure, so I'm going to give the cure as an option for Remus."  
  
Draco looked up. "And I found it. Are you sure he'd want a cure, though? I mean, the lycanthropy is an integral part of who he is."  
  
Harry snatched the book from Draco's hands and scanned the ingredients. "I know and that's why I'm giving him a choice. I'm making two potions for him and it's up to him to choose which one he takes. The one is a complete cure. The other will give him complete control over his transformations, making them painless. It'll essentially give him all the ability of a born werewolf."  
  
Draco raised his eyebrows, looking over Harry's shoulder. "And how do you propose you do that?"  
  
"It'll have all the ingredients of Wolfsbane but will have the permanence of the cure."  
  
Draco grinned, impressed. "Oh."  
  
"Come on!" Harry grabbed Draco's hand, pulling him from Slytherin's rooms. "Let's explore!" Grumbling, Draco allowed Harry to drag him bodily from Slytherin's rooms and back into the hallway. Grinning, Harry pulled him into the next door, which happened to belong to Rowena Ravenclaw. They spent an hour looking through her rooms. Draco found an interesting crystal ball that glowed as if the insides were made of fire. He pocketed it and they resumed their exploration. Helga Hufflepuff's rooms didn't hold anything of immediate interest so they walked further, coming to the last door, which looked as if gold and scarlet had thrown up all over it.  
  
"I wonder whose room is behind this door." Draco muttered sarcastically. Harry rolled his eyes and pushed open the ornate door with a huff.  
  
Gryffindor's rooms were even gaudier than the door. "How in HELL did Slytherin put up with this?" Draco moaned, shaking his head. "It looks like Christmas decorations gone horribly wrong."  
  
Harry grinned. "Maybe this is why they had separate rooms?" He looked over the fireplace and his grin grew even wider. "Hey! Those are COOL swords!" he walked over and grabbed one from the wooden holder over the dark stone fireplace. Draco followed him and grabbed the other one, running his fingers over the ornate pommel and hilt.  
  
"Hey, it's got the crest of Hogwarts on it!" Draco exclaimed, staring at the jeweled hilt in awe.  
  
"Well, you did find it in Hogwarts school as well as in the room of one of the Founders," Harry drolly replied, rolling his eyes.  
  
"Prat," Draco muttered.  
  
"En guarde!" Harry yelled, clumsily brandishing the sword. Draco stared at him coolly.  
  
"Oh really. Is that how you killed the Basilisk? By waving one of those around and hoping the pointy end went in?" Draco circled Harry and calmly slapped away the brandished sword.  
  
"I'd like to see you do better," Harry snapped, glaring.  
  
"I've had lessons since I was four. I'm SURE I can do better." With that, Harry playfully lunged at Draco, taking him by surprise. Deftly, Draco parried, smirking. Again, Harry lunged ungracefully and again Draco knocked his attack aside. "Come on, Harry," Draco smirked. "I know you can do better than that."  
  
Harry lunged a third time, tripping over something and landed on his stomach. "FUCK!" he screamed, accidentally slicing Draco across the stomach. "What the FUCK!"  
  
Draco grabbed his wounded stomach, his face white. "You- you hit me! You actually hit me!" he yelled, bordering on hysterical. "Twelve years of lessons and you bloody hit me!"  
  
Harry picked himself up off the floor, grimacing in pain. "I think I sprained my ankle," he complained, limping.  
  
"You sprained your ANKLE!!! You almost cut me in half!!!!!" Draco screamed at him, clutching his stomach.  
  
"I am so, so sorry, Draco." With that, Harry limped over and pried Draco's fingers away from what he was sure would be a gushing wound. "You dork!" Harry yelled, smacking Draco upside the head. "It's just a scratch!"  
  
Draco pouted. "Kiss it and make it better?" he asked hopefully. Harry sighed and, with a kiss, healed it.  
  
Harry turned around, scowling. "What did I trip on?" he asked aloud, scanning the room. He saw a small tail peeking out from under the coffee table. "What the..." he darted forward, catching the tail and dragging out a baby griffin. "Got ya!" he exclaimed triumphantly. The griffin growled and promptly closed its teeth on Harry's finger. "YAAAAH!" he yelled, dropping the tiny winged lion. It scurried away from him and hid behind Draco.  
  
Draco stared down at the infant crawling behind his feet. "Hello, little one," he cooed, bending down. "Did that great oaf scare you? I'm sure he didn't mean to." The miniscule griffin purred and arched against his ankle. He picked it up and it cuddled into his arms.  
  
Harry glared at Draco. "The little thing bit me!" he snapped, pouting.  
  
"You pulled the poor thing's tail," Draco retorted, cuddling the baby closer.  
  
Harry pouted even more. "He bit me, Draco! Kiss it and make it better?" he asked hopefully, holding out the red and bleeding finger.  
  
Draco stared at it with repugnance. "It has Griffin slobber on it."  
  
Harry's face fell. "Please?" he begged, still holding out the aforementioned finger.  
  
Draco stared at it for a minute more before sighing. He gingerly kissed the tip of his own finger and touched Harry's finger quickly before jerking back. "I need my whole hand sterilized now," he complained, scrunching up his nose in disgust.  
  
Harry pouted and the griffin glared at him. "What?" Draco asked, confused. He looked down. "Not you, too! What did I do?" Harry just glared at him. The griffin scampered out of Draco's arms and disappeared through a door. Intrigued, Draco followed, only to come running out two seconds later.  
  
"What?" Harry asked.  
  
"There's a whole bloody colony of them in there! Hordes!" Draco gasped, hiding behind Harry.  
  
Harry shrugged and walked in, Draco trailing behind him. It was true: there were almost two hundred Griffins in the mile wide room. "How in the world did this room get so big?" he wondered.  
  
_Well, Heir to my master, it would be because Godric expanded it so we would have room to breed and live._ A cool voice spoke up in Harry and Draco's minds and they tensed.  
  
_Who's there?_ Harry asked suspiciously.  
  
An ancient Griffin stood from where it had been reclining on a scarlet mattress and strode regally over to them. _I spoke, young Master. I and my family serve you and this school faithfully_.  
  
Harry raised his eyebrows. _Your Master is Godric Gryffindor, not me. And he is- was here, so how can you serve me?  
_  
_ I serve you on order of Master Gryffindor. He came to me and ordered me to do so, just three weeks ago. It is no longer his place to have anything to do with this school, the same as Master Gryffindor's Mate, Slytherin. They are here to help and assist, nothing more. Since you are the most powerful and true Heir, I serve you.  
_  
Harry was extremely confused, and started to ask a question, but Draco elbowed his ribs. _Just smile and nod, Harry. If you question him it would be an insult,_ he instructed privately.  
  
Harry smiled and nodded. _Thank you. I don't mean to be rude, but do you have a name?  
_  
_My name... it has not been uttered for many centuries, since Master Gryffindor was last alive. It is Galileo, named after Master's old friend the inventor and Muggle scientist who was exiled.  
  
_ _Very well, Galileo, I am honored._ Harry half bowed.  
  
_And I am honored to have another Demigod as my master. The griffin prowled back to his previous perch, shoving a little one off the fluffy mattress. You can call me to your side whenever you wish, but I would like to remain in this room with my family.  
  
As you wish, Galileo.  
_  
Draco walked over, picking up the little one and setting it upright on another perch about four feet from the floor. It curled up and then rolled on its back, exposing its belly, begging to be petted. Draco absently scratched its stomach, and it caught his index finger with its paws and drew it to its face, sucking on his finger with gusto. Draco stared down at the little griffin, disgust and a smile of delight warring over his features.  
  
Harry groaned. "Should I leave you here to play with your new friend?" he asked with a smirk. Draco jumped and turned around; his face stained a rosy pink.  
  
"I'm coming, I'm coming," he huffed. He turned back around. "Would it be all right if I came and visited?" he asked Galileo. The ancient Griffin nodded.  
  
They walked back out of the room and into the living room. "That little Griffin has you whipped, Draco," Harry teased as he picked up both swords, conjuring a carrier for the two heavy weapons. He walked out of Gryffindor's rooms, Draco trailing behind him, trying to think up a good retort for the whipped remark.  
  
  
  
Harry spent the rest of that day and night perfecting the two potions for Remus. Draco had to pull him bodily from the Potions Lab at three in the morning while the potions simmered for three hours. Harry protested while they walked all the way to the Dorms, too tired to Apparate. Draco tucked him in, ordering him to get six hours of sleep and he'd tend to the Potions. The last thing Harry remembered was Draco setting him into the same healing accelerated sleep that Alanna had used on the both of them in the beginning of the summer.  
  
Six hours later, Harry awoke completely refreshed and ready to finish up with the presents. After spending time showering and changing, he Apparated to the Potions Lab to find Draco bottling the two Potions "Good morning, sleepyhead," Draco called, grinning. "They're done, finally."  
  
"Good, now you're going to get some rest," Harry responded, taking the bottles from Draco.  
  
Draco pouted. "Nope, cuz I got the same amount of sleep you did and used the accelerated sleep on myself. I'm fine and a bit wired, actually."  
  
"Oh. You want to go shopping, since these are done?" Harry asked.  
  
"You still have presents to get?" Draco asked curiously.  
  
Harry grimaced. "Yep. You?"  
  
"I've been done for ages. You really give meaning to the word procrastinate. It's the twenty-third of December for shit's sake."  
  
"Thanks a lot." Harry walked away. "I'm going to Diagon Alley and London, if anyone asks." He Apparated straight away, leaving Draco behind.  
  
  
  
Five hours later, Harry was finally done with his shopping. He quickly banished his bags to his rooms and called Alanna and Xander. _Hey, you two, I need your help,_ he called.  
  
_What's up?_ Alanna asked.  
  
_I figured out the way to bond without blowing anything up but I need some help setting it up._ He felt Alanna's and Xander's interest spike and they Apparated to his side in the middle of Diagon Alley.  
  
"Do tell, little brother," Alanna drawled.  
  
"All right, but you can't tell Draco," Harry pleaded.  
  
"Why the fuck not?" Xander demanded.  
  
"Duh, what's in less than two days?" Harry asked, exasperated.  
  
Xander and Alanna looked at each other, grinning evilly. "Christmas present?" they both asked in unison.  
  
"Yup, so are you going to help me?" Harry asked, sliding his gaze back and forth between them.  
  
"Of course. Lead the way, oh intelligent one."  
  
"Well, you see, it's like this..." With that, Harry Apparated them, and a hefty chunk of atmosphere, to the moon.  
  
"I think we need to be as far away from any nearby planets as possible, so if you could point me in the direction of deep space, I think that would work."  
  
Alanna and Xander pondered that, and their faces broke into sunny smiles. "I think you got it, little bro! Damn, so we could have been doing the Sharing all along, and not just waiting till we were in spirit form..." Alanna trailed off, musing.  
  
Harry stared at her in shock. "You mean you haven't done that at all????" he asked incredulously, then clapped his hand over his mouth as he realized what he had said.  
  
"Umm, too much information," he said desperately. "Don't answer that, please." Alanna and Xander chuckled, they joined hands and Apparated to the furthest point away from Earth they could manage.  
  
  
  
Draco walked down the Dungeons corridor, looking for his Godfather. _Uncle Sev?_ he called cautiously, not wanting to disturb... anything. _Just my luck if I caught him with my soon to be Aunt Laurel, _Draco thought with a smirk as he stood in front of Severus's quarters.  
  
_Yes?_ came the neutral reply. Draco sighed in relief.  
  
_ Where are you?  
  
In my quarters, why?  
  
Can I come in or am I interrupting anything?  
  
Yes, you may, and no, you are not interrupting anything,_ Severus responded with amusement.  
  
Draco knocked, and the door opened. Severus stood on the other side, an eyebrow raised. "Thanks, Uncle Sev," he sighed and walked over to the couch, sitting down with obvious relief.  
  
"I know this isn't a social call, so what's going on?" Severus asked skeptically.  
  
"To coin a phrase from Alanna, this is really freaking me out," Draco stated wearily, slouching.  
  
"What is?" Severus asked absently, going back to grading the last of the seventh year midterm exams.  
  
Draco rolled his eyes, becoming more visibly agitated by the second. "The issue with my Father, what else?"  
  
Severus sighed. "Draco, what else could you have done? You aren't bonded, and thus don't have a chance in Hell of defeating him, or so Alanna says. I'd trust her judgment on this one."  
  
Draco scowled. "But I RAN, Sev. I just FUCKING ran. I didn't even try to help him. We just got out of there as fast as possible, with no regard to - my Mother! Now we have to go back! I left her there with those madmen!" Draco jumped up to Apparate, terror and fury plain on his face.  
  
Severus grabbed his arm. "Oh no you don't." He grimly pulled his arm and dragged his wriggling Godson back to his seat. "I am NOT going to have you pull a Gryffindor on me and get yourself killed!"  
  
Draco turned to him, tears threatening to spill. "But she's my Mother," he begged.  
  
"And, if I know Narcissa, she wouldn't want you rushing headlong into danger to save her. Besides, she's survived twenty-five years as a Death Eater's wife and Death Eater herself. It's not like she doesn't have experience with facing Evil and surviving. I know for a fact she has met Clautius before. He used to come to Death Eater meetings before Voldemort's body died the first time."  
  
Draco sat back, crossing his arms over his chest. "So I sit here and do nothing?"  
  
"I think we need a plan, and I think it'll take much, much more than rushing in headlong and simply removing him from the Manor. We have to find a way to get him out of your Father's head."  
  
"All right, let's start planning. I want him out of there as fast as possible."  
  
The two Slytherins put their heads together, passing ideas back and forth. _We need a Gryffindor, _they thought simultaneously. _Someone dumb enough but brave enough that rushing headlong into danger wouldn't faze him/her.  
_  
_How about we call everyone and figure this out? _Draco suggested.  
  
_Good idea._ Severus sent out the call, and within minutes, everyone, including the Staff and students who had remained were there in Severus's quarters. He grudgingly expanded his living room to fit everyone and the discussions began in earnest.  
  
  
  
Harry sat in deep space, talking to Alanna and Xander. _So, anything within the radius of 100,000,000 light years?  
_  
_Nope! You're good to go!_ came the cheerful response from both of them.  
  
_Finally. It only took us five tries. So, any suggestions on how to build a room, or house, or planet or anything?  
  
Umm, think of what you want and will it into being? _came the obvious reply.  
  
_Oh, right._ Alanna and Xander could feel Harry talking to someone.  
  
Alanna Apparated to Xander's side. _I think, dearest, the thought of bonding has pushed out his ability to comprehend rational thought.  
_  
Xander smirked. _Lana, you're talking to a guy. I understand EXACTLY how the poor boy feels. Going without sex is just ... torture.  
_  
She rolled her eyes. _Come on, let's see what he's come up with_. They Apparated to Harry's side.  
  
_He's made a ... planet, _Xander said, surprised. A sphere roughly one tenth of the size of Pluto hung in midair covered in blue and green swirls. They Apparated to the surface to find Harry standing with his hands extended in front of a mansion.  
  
_Harry, when we said create something and will it into being, we weren't talking about a whole bloody planet. You do realize that it will explode when you bond, right?  
_  
_ Actually, it won't,_ Harry replied, his face screwed up in concentration. Anxiously, he worried his lower lip.  
  
_What are you talking about?_ Xander demanded. _You create a sphere of pure energy when you bond, and everything around you goes KaBOOM!  
_  
_If we put the sphere around the PLANET, it won't explode,_ Harry reasoned, putting the finishing touches on the enormous manor in front of him.  
  
_That sounds like it'd work. Your parents just exploded Jupiter and then rebuilt it.  
_  
Harry snickered. _So you let THEM explode a planet but not us. You really aren't fair._ He walked forward and opened the door, holding it open. _Do you want to come in?_  
  
_Sure. Let's see what you've created. This should be interesting._ They walked inside.  
  
  
  
"All right, so we have that Potion that Harry created. But, all the demigods are dispersed and in training, so how are we going to get enough power to kick him out of my Father's head long enough to put shields in place?" Draco asked for the twentieth time.  
  
"And for the last time, Mister Malfoy, we don't know. Wait- where's Alanna, Xander, and Harry?" Professor Sprout asked in confusion as she stared around the room.  
  
Draco scratched his head. "He said something about being in Diagon Alley if anyone needed him, but that was twelve hours ago. I don't think he's still there. He feels much further away than that."  
  
"Well, where is he?" Dumbledore demanded. "Why did he go off on his own? He knows that the Death Eaters are growing in strength and number. We have to find him!"  
  
Severus laughed. "I don't think you understand, Headmaster. Harry could take all of them on and win, no question about it. He could destroy Voldemort quite easily as of right now. You don't have to worry about his safety."  
  
Dumbledore stared at him, confused. "But- but-" he sputtered.  
  
Severus sighed. "Headmaster, this is what being a demigod means. Mortals pose no threat to us. Harry could destroy Voldemort RIGHT NOW, but he wouldn't be solving the problem. Clautius would just get another mortal to do his dirty work, and it would start all over again."  
  
Dumbledore just stared at him blankly, all twinkle gone from his eyes. "I don't understand," he said finally.  
  
Emily spoke up from the corner, where she was sitting on her father's lap. "Think of it this way, Professor. Take Voldemort's power and multiply it by - what- three or four? That's how powerful a Veela or Elf or Drow or Vampire is. Multiply that by two and you get Dragons. Multiply that by two, you get one of the weakest Demigods or Demigoddesses. Put that on an exponent of ten, and you get Alanna and Xander. Put that number on an exponent of ten and you get Clautius, Harry, and Draco. Voldemort is not the issue, Clautius is. Clautius is the Dark Lord in the Prophesy, not Voldemort."  
  
"But Voldemort gave Harry the scar!" Professor Sinistera yelled angrily.  
  
"So?" Emily asked reasonably. "Whose orders was he acting under? Who gave him his powers? Who's his master?"  
  
"That is true, but Voldemort was the one talked about in the Prophesy," McGonagall said firmly.  
  
"And who gave the Prophesy?" Severus asked drolly. "How do you know that Trelawney isn't just completely insane?"  
  
"Look, this is getting us nowhere," Draco broke in. "Back to the situation, people. How do we get Father out of Clautius's clutches?"  
  
Everyone ignored him, too intent on arguing over whom was the bigger threat: Clautius or Voldemort.  
  
  
  
Alanna walked into one of the prettiest rooms she had ever seen. "Harry, this is lovely," she gushed. "But, I'm confused. Why did you make so many rooms? Only you and Draco will be coming here."  
  
_That's what you think_, Harry thought privately. In truth, every pair of the Demigods had rooms here, for one specific purpose. _I think they'll like this,_ he thought privately, already mentally adding nameplates over the doors. _Alanna and Xander can have this one and Draco and my room is down the hall, and Mum and Dad's is next to this one... yay! Ok, build silencing charms into the walls also.  
_  
"I made so many for a reason and I'm not telling, so there." Harry crossed his arms, smirking.  
  
"Fine then, be that way!" Alanna smirked, tossing her hair. Harry quickly sent a surge of magic throughout the house, finishing it.  
  
Xander just laughed, shaking his head. With identical smirks, they Apparated straight back to school, landing in the Great Hall.  
  
  
  
Draco's head shot up. "They're back." _Harry, Alanna, Xander, get to Uncle Sev's quarters right away.  
_  
Within seconds, the three grinning demigods were in the center of Severus's quarters. "Hey, all, what's up?" Alanna asked eagerly.  
  
"I want my Father back," Draco said angrily, "and THEY keep arguing and won't plan anything!"  
  
Alanna stared at Draco. "What's up with your father, little bro?"  
  
Harry scowled. "Clautius has control of his mind. That's why he had Draco tortured and tried to kill him over the summer."  
  
Xander spoke up. "Hey, Draco, why don't we wait to plan for two days, all right?"  
  
"But- but, he's being hurt and my Mum is there too and why do we have to wait??" Draco pleaded, confused.  
  
"Draco, in two days, things will change and we will have a much better way to defeat Clautius. Just trust me on this one, please?" Alanna asked, smirking at Harry.  
  
Harry blushed, getting what they were talking about. "All right, Alanna, you made your point." He wrapped his arms around Draco and Apparated them to their rooms.  
  
_ Harry, please tell me what's going on!_ Draco begged.  
  
_Ok, but I'm blaming you for ruining your Christmas present.  
_  
Draco scowled. _How is my Christmas present part of saving my Father?  
_  
_Well, I figured out how to bond and not blow anything up and-_ Harry was cut off by Draco's whoop of excitement and a crushing hug.  
  
_ Can we now? Can we now? Can we now? Can we now? _Draco babbled on, his eyes sparkling.  
  
_Anyway, before you interrupted me, we can bond, but not yet, and as soon as we bond, we will be able to fight off Clautius and save your father.  
  
How about now? Now? Now? Now? Now? How about now? Can we now? Now?_ Harry resisted the temptation to slam his soul mate on the head, rendering him unconscious.  
  
_ This is why I wanted to spring this on you Christmas afternoon. I wanted it to be a SURPRISE.  
_  
Draco pouted. _It was a surprise, all right. Now, instead of telling me about it, SHOW ME!!!!_ he demanded, knocking Harry onto his bed and pouncing on him. _Show me, please?  
_  
Harry grinned impishly. "No."  
  
Draco pouted. "Please?"  
  
Harry sighed. "No."  
  
"Please???" Draco pouted even harder and bent down over his soul mate, ghosting his lips over Harry's. Almost against his will, Harry arched slightly upwards, capturing Draco's lips with his own.  
  
"No," Harry whispered against Draco's mouth. "We wait. Besides, it'll only be thirty hours or so. Wait."  
  
Draco sighed and slid off of Harry reluctantly. "Why do we have to wait?" he asked, pleading.  
  
"As of right now, I have no idea, but it better have been a good reason," Harry growled, rolling over. "Go to sleep."  
  
Draco sighed. "Do I have to? I just want to lay here and finally be able to fantasize about-"  
  
Harry cut him off with a groan. "Go to SLEEP, Draco," he snapped half heartedly.  
  
Draco grumped but rolled over and closed his eyes.  
  
Finally, Harry thought in relief as he closed his eyes, his arms unconsciously moving to embrace his soul mate.  
  
.  
  
The next day passed in a flurry of excitement as the entire castle prepared for Christmas. Lily and James refused to let anyone in their rooms, even Harry, saying that they had tons of gifts to wrap. They also forbade Harry from getting them any presents, saying that having him back and the reinstatement as his legal guardians was more than enough.  
  
Draco pestered Harry all that day as well, asking him incessantly when they would bond and where.  
  
At nine o'clock that evening, in the Slytherin Common Room, Harry finally snapped. "Because I plan on being with you there for more than it takes to have sex ONCE, or TWICE, or even more than TWENTY-FOUR HOURS and I want to have CHRISTMAS with my PARENTS!!!!!!!!" he yelled angrily.  
  
Everyone's heads whipped around and whispered giggles broke out. Severus walked over to them, smirking. "You figured it out, then?" he asked with a grin.  
  
Harry stared back at him. "Yes, I figured it out when no one, including two, thirty billion year old demigods could."  
  
Alanna laughed at him. "Well, little brother, you think like a mortal. We just figured that eighty years was no big deal to go without Sharing. You poor mortals, however, only live for eighty or so years, so it's all you got."  
  
Draco sat next to Harry, processing the original statement. "So, it's a sex marathon, then?" he asked hopefully.  
  
Alanna and Xander busted up laughing, as did Emily, Eric, Neville, Luna, Seamus, and Blaise. Severus just stared at his Godson, flabbergasted.  
  
"What?" Draco asked innocently. "It was a valid question. I want to know what I'm getting myself into." Severus gave up and started laughing with everyone else. "Why are you laughing, Uncle Sev? You're going to have to go elsewhere to complete your bond, too," Draco said with a grin. Severus stopped laughing and stared at him.  
  
Harry broke it up with a laugh. "Ok, it's time for good little people to go to bed, which includes me and you and everyone else in this room, Draco."  
  
Eric laughed. "Yeah, you need your rest for the 'ahem' long day you have tomorrow."  
  
Harry flipped him the bird and walked into his room, grinning. I can't wait for tomorrow, he thought with a smile.  
  
  
  
A/N: Ok, I'm sorry this took so long but I'm studying for finals. MAY 8th is the last one!!!!!!! Well, I have almost two weeks to go after that before my state exam for my EMT license, which is the 24th of May. Oh, and I got a 69 out of 70 possible points on my first final so I'm really really happy about that. SO, the next week I'm probably not going to type very much. Again I apologize, but school comes first and I need to study.  
  
Oh oh oh! I'm working on a new plotline, nothing to look for in the next week, or even two, but I'm typing a little at a time when I get writer's block for this story. It's titled "The Lesser of Two Evils" and I'm going to complete it in one chapter, probably only about 50 pages or so, maybe a little less, maybe a little more. So, yeah. And, after this book. "Of Gods and Men" is done, the sequel will be started right away. A tentative title will be "A Fine Line Between Heaven and Hell" and I'm looking at between forty five and fifty five chapters. So, that's the plan.  
  
B/N: Yellow!!!! As in YELLOW CARD, duh! How is everybody, hmm? You all are looking fabulous right now, and I love what everyone has done with their hair! .....................Well, now that the pleasantries are over with, WAHOO! SEX MARATHON! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY! I'm so happy, I think I could cry. Of course, we will be brining you ALL the juicy details (Harry and Draco looking scandalized in the corner)!  
  
And now, a word from our sponsors: the Rent-a-Demigod Center, located in scenic "Under World." It is at this completely legal ware house that you can pay a certain fee for a specified amount of time with your favorite Demigod! 


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: Well, here it is, at long last. Thanks again for the patience and enjoy. Oh, and to anyone who wants to know about the favorite demigod deal, that was started without my permission and my beta has already been reprimanded and that is her specialty now. So, any questions must be directed to her. I'll have her explain at the end.  
  
To everyone who waited patiently for me to finish finals, I am pleased to announce that I passed my Anatomy and Physiology Exam with top marks. To everyone who threatened me with bodily harm for studying rather than typing, I have a great deal of Martial Arts experience. I'd like to see you try.  
  
Chapter 27  
  
Harry slowly awoke wrapped in Draco's embrace._ Mmmm, this is how I want to wake up for the rest of my life_, he thought sleepily as he slowly opened his eyes.  
  
_Mmmm, me too,_ Draco thought sleepily. "Wait! It's Christmas!!!! PRESENTS!!!!!" Draco yelled, throwing the covers off of them and darting out of bed, clad only in his boxers. He raced for the door and down the hall to the Slytherin Common Room where the tree was, summoning a bathrobe as he ran.  
  
"Mmmffffrg! What the- Draco, get back here!" Harry whined, huddling under the blankets. "It's cold!" he closed his eyes and fell back asleep.  
  
_Damn it, Harry. WAKE UP!!!!_ Draco yelled mentally through the link.  
  
Harry shot into a sitting position, swearing in fifteen different languages before calming down. _All right, all right, I'm up,_ he muttered angrily, rolling literally out of bed. He landed on the floor, glaring at the cold before summoning his own bathrobe and stalking into the Common Room. Draco, Ginny, Blaise, Emily, and Eric were sitting on the couches, their presents already sorted into piles almost a foot high. "Happy Christmas, everyone."  
  
Ginny stood up and hugged him, grinning. "Happy Christmas, Harry."  
  
"Happy Christmas, Harry. You got the really, really big one in the corner," Blaise announced matter- of - factly, holding -her- own enormous box in her lap.  
  
Harry stood against the wall, dozing. Draco stood up and grabbed him around the waist, pulling him onto the couch next to him. Harry lay down, resting his head on Draco's lap and Draco squirmed uncomfortably, immediately envisioning other things Harry could be doing down there.  
  
Harry smacked his leg, slightly scowling. _Twelve more hours and sure, why not? But keep your mind out of the gutter until then, all right?  
_  
Draco pouted. "Why can't I think about it? The average male thinks about sex once every six seconds."  
  
"Draco, you said that out loud," Ginny giggled. Draco turned red and stood up, dumping Harry onto the floor.  
  
"I'm going to go get the adults," he snapped, beating a hasty retreat.  
  
Harry sat up, rubbing his head. "Why, whenever I finally lay down, do I end up on the floor?" he wondered. Emily started laughing, as did Blaise. Eric just stared at him, muttering that it was way too early to deal with this. "Right, I'm gonna go get Luna, Neville, and Seamus," he announced. Seamus chose at that moment to walk in from the direction of the Girl's Dorms. "Scratch that, make that Neville and Luna." Harry yawned and stumbled out of the Slytherin Common Room before Apparating.  
  
He appeared in the middle of the Sixth Year Gryffindor Boy's Dorms and immediately walked over to Neville's bed, shaking the boy awake. "Come on, Neville, presents are in the Slytherin Common Room, and everyone else is up. We're waiting on you and Luna." He heard someone stirring in the next bed and stared, slack jawed, as Luna pulled the bed hangings back and stood up.  
  
"Well, that was surprising, though it made my job a lot easier," Harry muttered. Neville gave him a shy grin and Luna just stared off in to space dreamily. "Happy Christmas, the both of you."  
  
Neville sat up, and the three of them Apparated back to the Slytherin Dorms. Draco, Remus, Severus, Lily, James, Alanna, and Xander Apparated in right after them, and the next hour was spent in a flurry of wrapping paper, ribbons, and bows as they dove headfirst into the mountain of presents under the tree.  
  
"Happy Christmas, everyone!" Harry announced gaily as soon they had appeared. He ignored his presents, and walked back into his room.  
  
_Damn it, Harry, where are you going? _Draco snapped, Apparating to his side.  
  
Harry smirked at him. _I'm getting to last of the presents, so please go back down there_. He strode into his room and pulled the door shut, leaving a gaping Draco Malfoy behind him. Draco shook his head and walked back to the Common Room, confused.  
  
Five minutes later, Harry returned, with the two Dragons and Sanddragons in tow. He snuck up behind Luna and dropped the two icy dragons on her lap. She jumped and squealed, cradling them to her chest. "HARRY!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!!" she shrieked, only pausing to set the two infants down before launching herself at the startled demigod.  
  
"Thanks, Luna. I'm glad you like them." She let go of his neck and picked her new pets up, hugging them, unconcerned that she was getting frostbite.  
  
Draco sat on the couch, staring at him, eyebrow cocked. "Really, Harry, that was an elaborate gift," he said, smirking. Harry simply pointed upwards and Draco looked up, confused. The two dragons flew in lazy circles above his head. Draco's eyes popped out and he stared at Harry, grinning. "For me?" he asked, shocked. Harry nodded, smiling.  
  
Draco stood up and walked over to Harry, the two miniature dragons perching on his shoulders. "Have I told you today how much I love you and Happy Christmas?" he asked softly, burying his face into Harry's shoulder. The two baby dragons squawked, their perch moving too much for their liking. Draco laughed, moving more slowly as he put his arms around Harry's waist, holding him. "You took my idea for a present for you, Love, did you know that?"  
  
Harry stared down at him curiously. "What?" he asked confused.  
  
Draco pointed up, and Harry's gaze followed his finger. Two winged unicorns of miniature size were perched on the top book shelf above them. Harry's eyes widened and he grinned, holding out his hands. The two flew down from their perches and landed daintily on his hands, fitting into the palms with ease. "They're so tiny," Harry breathed.  
  
"And to think that they'll only-"  
  
"Double in size," Harry finished, smirking. "I know the same goes for your new pets. Oh, and by the way, they're extremely telepathic and will probably bond mentally with you."  
  
Draco started laughing. "Are you sure you want two infant dragons stuck in our heads, especially now?"  
  
Harry stared at him strangely. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Well, we are leaving soon, right?"  
  
"Yeah, but not just yet. I think it'd be better if we left tonight after dinner. I want my parents to open their gift from me, and I really want to spend the day with them."  
  
Draco pouted. Harry sighed. "What?" Draco asked, completely missing what was wrong.  
  
"It's the first Christmas I can remember having with my parents. Can't you let me enjoy it and stop thinking with your second brain?"  
  
Draco grumbled and walked off, muttering about being sex deprived for too long. Harry just watched him go with pain in his eyes. _Why the hell can't he be more understanding?_ he wondered before sitting back down in between his parents. They continued opening presents and talking, just enjoying being together. _I wish Draco were here, _Harry thought sadly._ I want everyone I care about here with me.  
_  
Draco sat in his room dejectedly. While he heard Harry's silent plea, Harry had promised and it was just so damn hard, both figuratively and literally to be around him right now. _Eight more hours and we'll- STOP THINKING, BRAIN!!!!!_ Draco slammed his head into a pillow repeatedly, willing his mind to shut off.  
  
_ AAARGH!!!! _Draco yelled mentally. _I can't BLOODY TAKE THIS anymore!!!!!_ Harry choked and Apparated to his side in an instant.  
  
"What??" Harry yelped, concerned. "What's wrong???"  
  
"Nothing, I just hate waiting." Draco lay back on the bed and crossed his arms. "Plus, you tied in that we could help Father once we bonded. I want to help him."  
  
"I know, and thank you for taking this better than I would." Harry walked over and wrapped his arms around him, kissing him softly. "I love you. You do know that, right?"  
  
They sat still for almost ten minutes before walking back down to the Common Room to rejoin everyone else; both of them wishing that time could pass a little quicker.  
  
Upon their arrival, Severus shocked them all by taking Ginny, Harry, Draco, and Emily as Potions Apprentices, with the promise to help them gain their Mastery. Draco promptly passed out and had to be revived. Severus had to be revived after he received Harry's present, which was a chest containing over three hundred unbreakable, everfilling potions ingredients, from Basilisks Blood to Flobberworm Mucus. Neville loved the book on exotic rare magical plants and the seedlings of the ten rarest.  
  
Four hours later, after countless snowball fights everyone was trooped upstairs from the Dungeons for Christmas Dinner. They heard a thump in the Great Hall and ran up the stairs to investigate. They found Gaila and Olivia sitting in a heap on the Great Hall floor, giggling insanely.  
  
"Wheeee that was fun, Gabbers. Do it again!!!!!" Olivia giggled, struggling to sit up.  
  
"But Livvers, I don't wanna. Besides, we're here, so why go anywhere else??" Gaila asked, sprawled crazily on the floor.  
  
"What did you do?" Draco asked, standing over them.  
  
The two girls giggled and looked up. "We escaped!!!! And, we're here to say MERRY Hanukkah!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean THANKSGIVING- oops, not quite right. Easter? Christ- Yup! CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!" they yelled at the top of their lungs, laughing insanely.  
  
Harry prodded Olivia cautiously, not knowing quite what to expect. "Where did you escape from?" he asked curiously.  
  
"From the movie set Pirates of the Caribbean in their eighteenth century style prison. WE RESCUED JACK SPARROW!!!!" They yelled gleefully, producing what looked to be a Jack Sparrow Barbie doll. Harry leaned closer.  
  
"Damn, the details on this doll are incredible!" Harry exclaimed, poking the doll with a finger. He yelped and scuttled backwards when the 'doll' grabbed his finger and jumped on his hand.  
  
"Now listen up, Will, I'm the only one who can steer this ship and I must have a crew, savvy? Wait, that didn't sound right- HEY!!!! WHERE THE FUCK AM I?????" the miniscule Jack Sparrow/Johnny Depp screamed, his face contorted with terror. "Holy SHIT! Giants DO exist!!!!" He fell backwards onto his rear end, staring up at the Demigods and students surrounding him.  
  
"OLIVIA!!!!" yelled Alanna. "What have I told you about playing with mortals as if they were dolls??"  
  
Olivia turned white. "It was Gabber's idea!" she yelled, hiding behind Harry. Gaila pouted from the floor.  
  
"Gaila? What do you have to say for yourself? Send him back!!!!" Alanna demanded.  
  
"Ummm, the Devil made me do it?" she asked timidly with a cheeky grin. "Fine, fine." Jack disappeared with a small pop. Draco glared at her.  
  
"What?" she asked, confused as he glared at her and walked off.  
  
_His father is being controlled by Clautius to get to him, _Harry explained.  
  
_Oops._ Gaila ran after Draco. "Come on, Little Bro. It'll be all right. Besides, once you bond you can kick his ass personally. All right?"  
  
Draco frowned. "It's pissing me off. He said he figured out how to and it hasn't happened yet and there's only so much I can take before going bloody nuts."  
  
Harry scowled from across the room. _Dumbass. It isn't going to happen at all if you don't bloody shut up about it.  
_  
Draco straightened, incredibly hurt. He glared at Harry and stalked out of the Hall. Severus stood and Apparated, reappearing with Draco in tow. They sat at the one large table left in the Great Hall for Christmas Dinner, the rest of Hogwart's staff filing in and sitting around the enormous table in the center of the Hall.  
  
"Mum, next year could we have Christmas at home?" Harry asked hopefully. Lily and James grinned.  
  
  
  
An hour later, Harry was setting up the magical laptop computer in his Dorm room and booting it up while playing with the Magical necklace Ginny had made for him. Everyone else had gotten one, as, according to her, it repelled Demon Magic in all its forms. Draco sat at the other desk, putting together his computer. It seemed that Harry's parents had bought laptops, printers, scanners and webcams for everyone, regardless of the cost or that they wouldn't work right in Hogwarts.  
  
_I don't want to sound repetitive but do we have to wait any longer? _Draco asked quietly, walking over to rest his chin on Harry's head.  
  
Harry looked up, his eyes dancing. _Nope._ He grabbed Draco around the waist and Apparated them immediately. A single piece of parchment floated to the ground in their wake. Eric walked into the room ten minutes later.  
  
"Draco? Harry? Severus wants- hey, what's this?" he picked up the parchment and scanned the note. A smile graced his lips. "All right, you two. Have fun."  
  
  
  
To whomever finds this-  
  
Draco and I are off, and we've closed our end of the link. Do not come find us. We will be back whenever it is convenient to us. We will be fine, in fact, better than fine. Failure to comply with our wishes will result in pissing off the two most powerful demigods in existence.  
  
Harry and Draco  
  
  
  
Eric took the note to Severus, who stared at it as if he smelled something foul before grinning wryly. "I take it then that they won't be back for several days?"  
  
"That seems to be the gist of it, Sir."  
  
"Very well, then. It can wait."  
  
  
  
**If you do not wish to read slash, then skip to the nextbold words across the page like you see here. Summary: they have sex and bond. End of summary. Remember, if you don't want to read slash, skip this part. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED: HERE THERE BE DRAGONS!!!! NAKED DRAGONS!!!!!!! ; P (I need sleep, don't mind me.)   
**  
They appeared in the bedroom that Harry had created. Draco was only dimly aware of the change in scenery as he tackled Harry roughly, bringing him to a soft, yielding surface. _There's a bed there, _Draco thought in surprise that quickly turned into desire.  
  
_Yes, there better be,_ Harry responded with amusement, tracing Draco's face with his fingertips. Draco caught his hand and gently kissed each finger tip, sucking lightly on the pad of each digit. He watched with extreme satisfaction as Harry's eyes clouded with desire and he leaned down to capture Harry's mouth with his own. Harry softly moaned and, with a sudden grin, flipped Draco neatly over, straddling his pelvis and effectively pinning him to the bed.  
  
Draco instantly hardened and ground his hips against his soul mates, still kissing the breath out of him. _Mmmm, don't stop,_ Harry thought, lazily unbuttoning Draco's shirt and pushing it from his shoulders. He trailed open mouthed kisses from Draco's mouth down to his collarbone, leaving faint red marks in his wake, growling with pleasure. The vibrations sent shivers up and down Draco's spine and he purred in anticipation. Harry stopped and sat up, surprised, and Draco glared at him. "Keep going, DAMNIT!" he yelled, reaching up and grabbing Harry's midnight tresses, pulling him down for a bruising kiss.  
  
"But- you purred. You purred," Harry exclaimed, staring at him strangely.  
  
"Veela in the genetics. What of it?" Draco asked impatiently. "Keep going, Potter!"  
  
"Oh." Harry happily went back to trailing kisses down Draco's neck, feeling with pleasure the rumbling vibrations emanating from his soul mate. "That is incredibly sexy," Harry gasped against Draco's pectoral, lazily licking his way down the center of Draco's chest. He looked up at the muffled snort. "What?"  
  
"I have a thing for wings and you have a thing for purring. We have some freaky animalistic fetishes. This is so wrong, bestiality is bad," Draco giggled. Harry sat up. "I never said you could stop."  
  
"Demanding bastard, aren't you."  
  
"You love it."  
  
"Mmmmpghrg." Harry snorted against a pebbly nipple. Draco shuddered.  
  
  
  
A glow emanated from the mansion, and with a sudden push, surrounded the tiny planet- incandescent white with viridian and sky blue swirls and streaks. The swirls whirled around faster and faster, creating a kaleidoscope effect. If anyone had been there to witness it, they would have wept from the exquisiteness.  
  
  
  
Harry continued down his soul mate's panting and shuddering body, licking and tasting every square inch. "Harry, please, God, please," Draco begged. "You can map me later, sex NOW!!!"  
  
_ I love it when you beg,_ Harry growled, switching to telepathy. He reached one hand up to caress Draco's temple and his fingers stuck there as they blended in perfection. Draco unerringly brought his hand to Harry's temple as well._YOURS. MINE, _Harry thought possessively right before he was swept away.  
  
_Yours,_ Draco vowed. _Mine,_ he thought, following Harry into two bodies, yet one mind, one soul.  
  
  
  
The Universe shuddered. Far, far away, Lily and James stood up, feeling the pure, unadulterated love radiating from the distant planet. "It's beautiful," James breathed, holding his pregnant and glowing (and showing!) wife.  
  
"We will not be interfering parents, we will not be interfering parents, we will not be interfering parents," Lily chanted over and over.  
  
"Do you think they'd mind if we borrowed the Mansion for a weekend or two?" James wondered. Lily smacked him.  
  
  
  
Draco poised above Harry, resting on his forearms, their eyes locked, ready to take the plunge. A solid mixture of blue and green shone around them, their minds completely bonded together. With a muffled sigh, he slid into his mate, reveling at the completeness, as well as the feeling of being possessed. Harry's fingers, of their own accord, gripped and scratched Draco's back and they both shuddered, moaning, sighing. They moved back and forth, in and out, giving and taking and giving some more.  
  
_ Move it, Freak!   
  
You're a Malfoy, Draco. With that comes responsibility.   
  
You're a Wizard, Harry.   
  
What house will you be sorted into? Malfoys are always sorted into Slytherin.   
  
You'll find, there are some Wizarding families better than others. I can help you with there.   
  
You could be great and Slytherin will help you on your way to greatness.   
  
Not Slytherin.   
  
Gryffindor!!!  
  
Slytherin!!!!  
  
Ferret.   
  
Gryffindor's Golden Boy.   
  
Triwizard Tournament.   
  
You can be anything you wish to be, my son.   
  
Sirius. _

_   
_  
Memories, past sins, failures, successes were freely shared. Sins were forgiven, hurtful words rectified. Nothing was held back as they poured themselves into each other, getting closer and closer. Hands grasped, stroked, caressed. Everything, anything was done, felt, experienced as they spiraled together, reaching higher and higher.  
  
  
  
Alanna and Xander sat in the Great Hall, talking. Suddenly, they both grinned. "Little bro is getting some!" Xander smirked.  
  
"Do you think he'd mind if we borrowed the Mansion next weekend?" Alanna wondered, grinning suggestively. Xander grinned at her and they Apparated away from the Hall.  
  
Down in his quarters, Severus grinned. _Laurel, I have the perfect place for the honeymoon.  
  
Can we bond there? Wait, I feel that, too. Never mind.  
  
_ Olivia nudged Gaila, who in turn nudged Raphael and Michael. "Do you think they have a really big ballroom sized bedroom up there?" Olivia asked hopefully, thinking of the orgy possibilities.  
  
"I wonder what would happen if we all went up there at once and bonded." Gaila asked. Visions of the whole universe exploding raced through their minds.  
  
"Uh, never mind," they chorused.  
  
  
  
With a conjoined cry, they exploded in a blaze of passion and heat and love and the thrill of being alive and one, finally together. Their minds and gazes locked, only one coherent thought beyond the pleasure remained. _You are mine, and I am yours for all eternity. Nothing can change that, nothing can come between us. You are mine and I am yours.  
_  
The energy around the planet, which had been steadily increasing, exploded outward in a brilliant incandescent light that rushed across space for thousands of light-years before dissipating slowly.  
  
**END OF SLASH. YOU PEOPLE THAT GET SQUICKED BY OOEY GOOEY SLASH SCENES SHOULD START READING AGAIN. I promise I'll give you heads up later on- they are there for a weekend after all.   
**  
  
  
Clautius sat up suddenly as he felt an immense, vast, nearly endless power and love sweep through him._ No!_ he gasped, sending his mind out to find what had happened. _She couldn't have! It's not possible! She swore never again!_ He paced back and forth in a rage, kicking and destroying everything in his path.  
  
"ADRIAN!!!!" he bellowed finally, seething. He heard a pop behind him and turned, furious.  
  
"Yes, Father?" Adrian asked respectfully, cautiously keeping a good distance between himself and the enraged King of Darkness. He knew exactly what his father was capable of doing in a rage, having been on the receiving end of Clautius's anger several times before.  
  
"Did you feel that??" he demanded.  
  
"How could I not? They have bonded." Clautius started pacing again, stalking around the room. Adrian hastily threw up his shields.  
  
"All my plans, and she has to thwart them! She PROMISED!!! Never again after she created me! Never would she create beings so powerful that they could rival her own power, yet that is what she has done! She PROMISED!!! DAMN YOU, MOTHER!!!!!" he screamed, everything within a mile radius exploding. Adrian watched impassively as his father destroyed his castle completely, venting his anger on stone rather than the people around him. "Stupid fucking BITCH and the bitchette is still upstairs, protected. I can't even bloody get into her mind!"  
  
Adrian only watched, keeping out of his father's path. He stared up at the heavens, reflecting on what he felt. _That love is so strong, so secure. I wish- wait, I have a soul mate_, he thought in wonder. _She's on their side. What do I have to do in order to be with her? I want to feel that way for myself.  
_  
  
  
Draco lay on Harry's sweat slicked chest, the both of them still shuddering from the awesome power that coursed through their veins._ Mmmm,_ Harry thought peacefully, their minds slowly separating back into their normal consciousnesses.  
  
_Mmmmm,_ Draco agreed, raising his head. A lock of platinum fell into his eyes and Harry slowly raised his fingers to brush it back.  
  
Harry smirked playfully. _More? _he asked, his eyes shining with hope.  
  
_ You top this time,_ Draco smirked, capturing Harry's mouth in a soul searing kiss.  
  
Harry grabbed the back of Draco's head, pulling him back down and flipping him over. _I love it when you're demanding._ Draco growled in response, effectively stopping all coherent thought.  
  
  
  
Severus, Emily, and Ginny stood in the Potions Lab, working on replenishing the stocks for the Infirmary when another wave of power and love crashed through them.  
  
Ginny sat down abruptly, giggling insanely. "That is so sweet!"  
  
Severus scowled. "There is nothing sweet about it, Ginny. They are just two horny, hormone crazed teenagers who have discovered sex for the first time. Of course they're going to shag like rabbits."  
  
Emily and Ginny just stared at Severus speculatively. "Oh, and the 'shower scene' Aunt Lily told us about was just a fluke, then?" Emily asked slyly.  
  
"What??? LILY!!!!!!" Severus screamed.  
  
Lily Apparated into the Potions Lab, her hair completely mussed and her robe buttoned wrong. "Yes?" she snapped angrily.  
  
Severus blinked, taking in her disheveled appearance. "You told them!!! Wait, what were- never mind, I don't want to know."  
  
Lily threw up her hands in exasperation. "You pulled me out of - well, you know, and now you say never mind?? You all suck!" she Apparated out of the Potions Lab, incensed.  
  
"Uncle Sev, you have the best timing," Ginny groaned, shaking her head. "I'm gonna go find Neville and Luna. This bites."  
  
Both Emily and Ginny strode from the Lab, leaving a very confused Severus behind them. "What? What did I do?"  
  
  
  
Lily, James, and Severus were sitting in the Potters' personal quarters several hours later when yet another burst of energy slammed through their minds. Severus checked his watch. "Yup, they're at it again. How many times is that now, six? Seven?"  
  
Lily swatted Severus across the back of his head. "Will you knock it off and stop counting? That is so disturbing. Just block it out like we did around number three."  
  
Severus grinned nastily. "Ah, but that would defeat the purpose of being able to tease them when they get back."  
  
"Quit perving on my son!" Lily yelled, laughing. Severus scowled, disgusted.  
  
"Lily, that was just nasty. How do you- oh yes, raising shields." With a smirk, Severus leaned back and relaxed his mind an impenetrable fortress. "Much better."  
  
_Sev, you are really something else, you know that? Leave the poor boys alone! _Laurel chided gently. _Oh, goody. Clautius is destroying his castle. Maybe a rock will fall on him and we won't have to deal with fighting him.  
  
Laurel, I - what? Why is he destroying his castle???_ Severus snapped, shocked.  
  
_Oh, he felt Harry and Draco bond and he's pissed. Something about how Mother lied to him when she promised that she'd never make a being as powerful as herself again, like she did with him.  
  
What? What do you mean?  
  
Well, Clautius seems to be under the impression that Draco and Harry combined are as powerful as Mother.  
  
Is this a bad thing?  
  
It means that they have the ability to completely destroy Clautius, not just send him home to Mother. This could be bad, very bad. Find out from Alanna what would happen if Clautius were completely destroyed.  
  
All right, Love._ He stood up, stretching. "Lily, James, we have to find Alanna and Xander. I think they have the answers we need."  
  
Lily raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"Just come on!" Exasperated, he pulled the two of them to their feet and Apparated them straight into Alanna and Xander's quarters to find them- fighting??? They were clad in black pajama like apparel, skipping, dodging and weaving their way around an enormous, thick mat that took up the entire floor space of their expansive living room. Not a piece of furniture was in sight, which probably was a good thing.  
  
"Come on, Xander, hit me!" Alanna yelled, easily blocking and parrying a vicious kick. In return, she swept his feet out from under him. He threw himself backwards, springing onto his hands and back onto his feet, avoiding danger.  
  
"I can't! You know I can't. It's all I can do just to evade you!" he panted, springing forward into another attack, which she blocked and countered, knocking him flat on his rear and pinning him.  
  
"Pin two. Come on, Xander! Give me a challenge!"  
  
"You're a sixth degree black belt in thirty-two different forms of martial arts; some so old they're not even practiced anymore. How in hell can I beat you???"  
  
"Hey, that looks like fun!" Severus exclaimed, drawing their attention. Immediately, Xander pressed his attack, pinning Alanna to the mat for the first time in centuries.  
  
"SWEET! I did it!" Xander did the funky chicken in the middle of the mat, celebrating.  
  
"Good! Again!" Alanna demanded, taking a stance.  
  
"I just need a minute, Alanna," Severus hastily interrupted.  
  
"Oh, fine. What?" She asked, sinking down into the lotus position and shutting her eyes.  
  
"Clautius knows that Harry and Draco bonded and he's pissed." Severus walked out onto the mat and sat down easily next to her.  
  
She cracked open one eye. "What of it? He can't do anything about it."  
  
"He destroyed his entire castle in a rage and started shrieking at the top of his lungs that Mother promised to never again make beings that equaled her power."  
  
That gained Alanna's full attention. "WHAT? But Mother wouldn't make someone who could take her on and win. That's suicide. Even Clautius isn't that- I don't understand."  
  
"According to Laurel, Clautius is that strong, or he thinks he is. She wants to know what kind of power vacuum would be created if they completely destroyed Clautius."  
  
"What??? He can't be destroyed. None of us can! That's ridiculous!"  
  
"Ok, hypothetically."  
  
"Well," Alanna closed her eyes again and massaged her temples. "Hypothetically speaking, it would be destroying the only opposition God has had in over thirty billion years. Not to mention that it would be destroying God's equal and soul mate, which could rip the Universe in half, at the very least. At the most, it'll destroy us all."  
  
"And what if there were people or a person to fill that vacuum, in power at least?"  
  
"It might be enough to stabilize the fabric of the Universe, but doubtful. Clautius has his magic woven throughout the Universe the same as Mother, providing balance. For every good there is an evil. Mother is total, complete good and love. Clautius is her exact opposite. Even if Mother were to create another, that person or persons would have to fulfill that role. Someone has to counteract the good. It's the way it works."  
  
"So whoever could fill the vacuum would be just as bad if not worse than Clautius."  
  
"Right, although I'm not sure how anyone could be worse than Clautius. He's a bastard."  
  
"So if Harry and Draco-"  
  
"Not going to happen. They can't destroy a fellow demigod and none of us are strong enough, except for Clautius, to be God's equal."  
  
"Oh," Severus said thoughtfully._ Mother is keeping things from Alanna,_ he thought with surprise.  
  
_ Well, of course She is. She's God, after all,_ Laurel smirked mentally.  
  
_So, how to find the answers we seek?_ Severus thought sardonically.  
  
_ No clue. Alanna and the rest of the original demigods can talk directly to Her because they've been noncorporal before. We have to die physically first.  
  
Damnit.  
  
Exactly.  
_  
  
  
Harry and Draco lay quite comfortably on one of several hundred couches found all throughout the Mansion. _You know, Love, this is a new record for us. Since coming here, it's been over thirty minutes since our last shag,_ Harry deadpanned, raising an eyebrow.  
  
_ You are insatiable, you know that?_ Draco asked a bit wearily from his resting point on top of Harry's chest.  
  
_ Aww, did I wear you out?_ Harry teased. Draco sighed and elbowed him in the ribs. _That was weak. I think I did wear you out. Ok, time for you to sleep. _Harry Apparated them straight back to the room they had arrived in and, without a word, tucked the both of them into bed, falling asleep almost instantly.  
  
Harry held Draco tightly in his arms as they slept. A bright white light started to glow around them, increasing a little at a time. Gradually, they both awoke, surrounded in a cozy perfect blanket of love and peace. _Mmm, Harry, what's going on?_ Draco asked sleepily.  
  
_I'VE DECIDED TO CONTACT YOU IN YOUR DREAMS, MY CHAMPIONS. CLAUTIUS KNOWS THAT YOU HAVE BONDED._ Harry instantly recognized Mother's voice and woke up.  
  
_ Is that bad?_ Harry asked sleepily, his mind still so tired it was hard to think.  
  
_ONLY IF YOU LET IT BECOME A PROBLEM. NO DOUBT THAT ALANNA HAS INFORMED YOU OF WHAT SHE THINKS YOU ARE TO DO.  
  
Yeah, she said we have to send Clautius home. Something about you needing to set him straight,_ Draco thought wearily, his mind becoming more and more clear by the second.  
  
_ WELL, MY CHAMPIONS, SHE IS WRONG. YOU ARE NOT TO SIMPLY DESTROY HIS BODY. HIS SPIRIT MUST ALSO BE DESTROYED. HE IS MY EQUAL AND ANTITHESIS AND MUST BE DESTROYED ONCE AND FOR ALL.  
  
Why?_ Draco asked before he could stop himself.  
  
_ BECAUSE HE IS TRYING TO DESTROY EVERYTHING I HAVE WORKED HARD TO CREATE. HE SEEKS TO TAKE OVER THE ENTIRETY OF THE UNIVERSE AND MAKE IT HIS OWN. I CANNOT ALLOW THAT. HE IS AN ABOMINATION AND HAS GONE AGAINST EVERYTHING HE WAS CREATED FOR.  
  
Do we get a choice? _Harry asked crossly. Draco smacked him.  
  
_ OF COURSE. YOU HAVE FREE WILL. THERE IS ALWAYS A CHOICE. HOWEVER, I CANNOT DESTROY HIM AS IT NEEDS TO BE DONE. HE IS MY MATE, AND I CANNOT. REGARDLESS, I STILL LOVE HIM AS MY OWN.  
  
But, what about you? Will you have a soul mate after this or will you be alone?_ Harry asked, worried.  
  
_ I HAVE CREATED MY POTENTIAL SOUL MATES BUT IT IS UP TO THEM TO ASSUME THE ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY. THAT IS ALL I CAN SAY AT THIS POINT, MY CHAMPIONS.  
  
All right, Mother. We accept the role you have given us. Clautius will be destroyed,_ Draco promised.  
  
_ THANK YOU, MY CHAMPIONS. I HAVE TO SWEAR YOU TO SECRECY. YOU MUST TELL NO ONE ABOUT THIS, AS WORD MAY LEAK BACK TO CLAUTIUS AND I DO NOT WISH FOR HIM TO KNOW. I WILL LEAVE YOU TO YOUR DREAMS._ The glow disappeared, and Harry and Draco instantly fell asleep again.   
  
  
  
Two days later, during lunch, Harry and Draco appeared in the middle of the Great Hall, identical lazy smirks on their faces. Lily and James grinned at them and stood up from the table, hugging them both. "I take it you had fun?" James asked with a smirk. Alanna, Xander, Remus, and Severus stayed seated, smirking at the obviously laid back newly bonded demigods.  
  
"Oh yes, it was beyond description," Draco drawled, his arms slung around Harry's waist.  
  
"I will not be an interfering parent, I will not be an interfering parent, I will not be an interfering parent," Lily muttered to herself. "GOD DAMN HORMONES!!!!"  
  
Harry jumped, staring at her. "Mum, are you all right?" he asked worriedly.  
  
"Don't mind me, I'm all right. It's just the maternal hormones. Insane pregnant woman coming through," she offered as an explanation.  
  
"I'm glad I NEVER have to deal with that," Draco whispered, his face a little pale.  
  
"Shh, she'll hear you," Harry hissed, softly elbowing him in the ribs. Draco winced in pain.  
  
"Hello, bruises," he muttered. "You should know as you left them there."  
  
"I'm sorry, Love," Harry winced in sympathy, rubbing his ribs playfully. "Besides, I recall you leaving your share on me."  
  
"Ahem, would you take the public displays of affection elsewhere?" Severus teased, standing up and enveloping the two of them in bear hugs.  
  
"Love you too, Uncle Sev," they chorused, snickering.  
  
"So, how was the, um , vacation?" Remus asked, grinning.  
  
"It went well," Harry began cautiously, seeing the wide grins everyone had on their faces.  
  
"We could tell," Severus snickered.  
  
"What do you mean?" Draco asked, looking down at himself and Harry._ Our clothes are on right, nothing is inside out or buttoned wrong... what is going on?  
_  
"We felt you, every time," Severus began, laughing hysterically.  
  
"WHAT???" yelped Harry.  
  
"Every time you two, um, yeah, bonded," Severus gasped out, holding his sides from the hilarity of the situation, "we felt a huge explosion of energy and love- every time!"  
  
"Oh shit," muttered Draco, his and Harry's face scarlet. "Every time?"  
  
"We lost track after ten," Lily offered. "The first day."  
  
"Oh hell," Harry whispered. "Was anything destroyed?" he asked worriedly.  
  
"Nope, it's all good," Alanna chirped happily. "We all got laid, though."  
  
"What???" sputtered Harry and Draco simultaneously. "TMI!!!"  
  
"Your, um, enthusiasm, influenced everyone else." Xander smirked, standing behind Alanna and draping his arms over her shoulders.  
  
"What are you talking about??" Severus sputtered, glaring at them. "You two were fighting!"  
  
"Sparring," Alanna corrected. "Besides, you wanted to join in, if I'm not mistaken."  
  
"Like I said, too much information!!!!" Harry snapped, shaking his head. "I have no wish to hear about anyone else's habits!"  
  
A thump from the fireplace behind the Headmaster's chair had Harry hurdling over the table. "Who's there?" he asked, landing in front of his Aunt Petunia and Dudley. "Aunt Petunia, Dudley! What are you two doing here?" he asked, helping his aunt to her feet.  
  
"Harry, you have to help us. Vernon knows where we live and he's been stalking us."  
  
"Really?" Lily asked darkly, walking around the table. "Hello Petunia. It's been a while."  
  
"Li- Lily???" Petunia gasped, enveloping her sister in a hug. "Dudley told me that you were back. How did that happen???"  
  
"Long story. So, what do you want us to do about the piece of scum you never should have married?"  
  
"I wouldn't say that, Lily. If I hadn't had married him, I wouldn't have my Dudley." Petunia wrapped an arm around her son's muscular shoulders.  
  
"Still I did tell you this would happen. I was only looking out for you."  
  
"I know. This is my fault and I'm asking for your help."  
  
"Now," Draco stated, walking up behind Lily, "I only have one question."  
  
"Yes?" Petunia asked cocking her head to one side.  
  
"Do you mind so terribly if we killed him?" Draco asked in all seriousness.  
  
Petunia gaped at him. Dudley, on the other hand, just shook his head. "He tried to kill my Mum last night. He almost hit her with a car and it was only by what Alanna taught me that I was able to stop the car from running her over. I want the bastard dead. Oh, and I have a question for you, what was with all the energy I could feel for the last three days?"  
  
He watched, fascinated, as Harry and Draco started banging their heads against the nearest table or wall in frustration. "Did EVERYONE feel us????" Draco moaned, his cheeks again a fire red.  
  
"That was you???" Dudley started laughing, sitting down on the ground with a loud thump.  
  
"Oh, Harry- every one of us wants to know if we could visit the mansion for several days at a time," Alanna asked with a grin, ruffling his hair.  
  
Harry smirked. "Of course, this is why I made bedrooms for each of you. Just find the nameplate on the door and that's your room." Alanna and Xander nodded gleefully and disappeared with a small pop.  
  
Harry's eyes widened. "Damn, they're in a hurry. What's the rush?"  
  
Everyone started laughing. Dudley and Petunia just looked confused. "Um, excuse me for asking, but why are they leaving?" Dudley asked.  
  
"We have to go off planet to bond or else the power we generate will blow up the planet. Don't worry about it- its Demigod stuff, not applicable to Mortals," Lily explained.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"So you really don't mind?" Draco asked Dudley.  
  
Dudley grinned. "Just give him a couple for me and Mum, all right? We don't want to know what you do to him; leave us out of it. But, I most definitely wouldn't have a problem with you exacting a little justice."  
  
"Dudley, death is so final," Petunia mused. "I hate him but I don't know if I want him dead."  
  
"Mum, he tried to kill you. He hurt Harry and tried to hurt me. He deserves death, and who better to exact justice than the demigods in charge of this planet?"  
  
"All right, I see your point," Petunia conceded. "I just don't want to know anything about what you do to him," she warned, shaking a finger at Draco and Harry.  
  
Draco grinned evilly. "Mr. and Mrs. Potter, it's time to go to Privet Drive."  
  
Lily and James grinned as well. "Call us either Mum and Dad, or Lily and James. Hmm, what should we do to the bastard?"  
  
Harry stared at the three of them, a troubled expression on his face. "I was the one who was hurt. I don't want to hurt anyone! I'm not God! I don't have the right to judge someone like that!"  
  
"Love, yes you are. Correction- we are. We are demigods and immortal. We have the right to judge mortals." Draco hugged Harry. "We are going to hurt him for hurting you."  
  
"But that's how Voldemort got started- wanting revenge against the people who hurt him. It isn't right," Harry protested.  
  
Lily sighed. "Fine. Petunia, you and Dudley should stay here for the time being. We have planning and other things to do as well that Dudley could help us with. Draco, you are going to convince your soul mate that the bastard needs to die."  
  
Draco nodded, grinning evilly as he thought of ways to convince Harry that Vernon was vermin that needed to be exterminated. Harry gulped at the look on his face. "Come on, Harry. Let's go talk." Draco dragged Harry by the arm out of the Great Hall.  
  
  
  
A/N: Do you have ANY idea how hard it is to write slash when you're suicidal? It FUCKING SUCKS, THAT'S WHAT!!!! Anyway, enough about my mental status, as I'm not dumb enough to actually try to hurt myself (no offense to anyone currently thinking about self mutilation, but the only person who's opinion matters is your own and only you can make yourself happy so go be happy for Christ's sake!), how is everyone else out there? I found it so much easier to add another ten pages to my other story, which is looking to be between 70-100 pages, a LOT more than I originally thought. So, it's shaping up nicely, a nice little horror story about a very suicidal Harry who gives Voldemort a map to his house, complete with 'X marks the spot'. The only provision- Voldemort lets Harry watch the Dursleys be tortured to death, and then he can kill the Boy Who Lived. I'm already at almost 35 pages on that one. Very nice, a nice little horror story about a very suicidal Harry who gives Voldemort a map to his house, complete with 'X marks the spot'. The only provision- Voldemort lets Harry watch the Dursleys be tortured to death, and then he can kill the Boy Who Lived. I'm already at almost 35 pages on that one. Very nice. So, you know the drill: read, review, the works. Or, don't review.  
  
B/N: She isn't serious. She has a very morbid sense of humor. For those of you who are concerned about my sister's well-being, thank you for the sentiment but it is unnecessary; she just forgot to take her happy pills this morning! Her other story is actually quite good.... Very dark, but good. You'll be surprised by all the twists she has in there. On to the case at hand; did you all love the SEX MARATHON as much as I did! Yes, I know, evil child for thinking about two elder males fucking like rabbits, but c'mon! IT IS FUCKING HILARIOUS!!!!! Anywho, sorry that I have not been a good beta, but I am almost out of Junior High now, and the exams are MURDER! My class just forfeited taking the Spanish Final because the rest of them are a bunch of incompetent morons (when it comes to Spanish)! Ok, that was harsh, the test was pretty difficult if you didn't study... which I did. It is all the crap about present progressive tense and prederate and ir a infinitive verb and we are getting way off subject here. Yes, I am in the process of beta-ing the next chappie! It will be uploaded soon.  
  
And about the thingy with the buy your favorite Demigod... umm, well I was just filling space on the last beta note... and, uhh, sorry to disappoint all the rabid fans out there, but (turn to see Harry and Draco smiling smugly at me, oh those bastards, how dare they rub it in! this is so on!) The prices have just dropped to the lowest of the low (and so have I)! You can now purchase your favorite Demigod for a measly price of two cookies! Please send check or money order to Laura's review page, and no, you cannot pull this crap with the infinity x beyond cookie amounts! These numbers must be realistic, people! We will start the bidding on May 18, 2004, opening the floor with two (2) cookies. The bidding will stop on May 20, 2004 and the reviewer with the highest realistic number amount of cookies will win two of their favorite Demigods for the time period of 3 days. You may do what you wish with them, and please don't send back the uesome gruesome details.... What am I saying?! You damn well better at least send us a postcard! The Demigods must be returned to us no later than 11:59:59 p.m. on May 23, 2004! And f. y. i. one cookie is equal to approximately $2.64(the amount of cookies you bid with should be roughly equivalent to the amount of money you would bid with if this was a real auction)! This is important people: aforementioned Demigods must be returned at aforementioned time with minimal injuries (they may be Demigods but we need them healthy) and the lowest amount of inflicted mental trauma possible!!! (which means you BDDSSM people better be careful, Damnit!!!  
  
With that said, ENJOY! Beta out!


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: Chapter 27 is now betaed! It was not betaed before, but my sis has gotten caught up. Her finals are killer... and I thought I had it hard in college. I'm only taking 2 classes! She has 7! So, anyway, she left a hefty beta note at the end of Ch. 27 for everyone interested in renting a demigod!  
  
Chapter 28  
  
Draco pulled Harry into the hallway and Apparated them straight to the Chamber of Secrets, pushing him onto one of the couches. "Now, why are you being so difficult?" Draco asked, pinning him down.  
  
Harry started to feel claustrophobic and gently slid Draco's hands from his chest, sitting up. "I just don't think its right to hurt people. Since coming to the Wizarding World, I've been told that I'm a weapon. I'm only good for killing Voldemort, and now, Clautius. Mother- I will do what Mother wants, but I hate feeling like killing is all that I'm good for."  
  
"Take it from me; killing people is the least of your abilities. I can name several things you are better at doing," Draco said with a smirk.  
  
"So I could work as a gay prostitute. Good to know," Harry muttered, shaking his head.  
  
"Nope, cuz I'd kill anyone who even thought of touching you," Draco vowed, wrapping his arms around Harry's waist and resting his chin on Harry's shoulder.  
  
"Again with the killing!" Harry snapped, exasperated.  
  
"He - deserves - to - die," Draco enunciated each word by poking Harry's chest with his index finger.  
  
"I know that!" Harry yelled, standing up and pacing. "Hell, I've wished for his death since I knew what death was! I don't want to be the one to kill him!"  
  
"What if we just caused him some pain?" _And let someone else kill him,_ Draco asked, wrapping his arms around Harry's waist.  
  
Harry slowly grinned, chewing on his lower lip. "Pain I can do. I've had fifteen years to plan and daydream what I would do to the bastard if the roles were reversed. Besides, death is too good for him. I want him to live with what I've done."  
  
"You are a truly devious, sadistic bastard, aren't you?" Draco asked, admiration evident in his eyes.  
  
"Thanks," Harry grinned as well, hugging his soul mate.  
  
"Come on, let's get your Mum, Dad, and Severus. I think they'd like to play too, don't you think?" Draco asked, Apparating them back to the Great Hall.  
  
Lily smirked at Draco. "Well, that was quick. What did you say to him?"  
  
"We reached a compromise," Harry said loftily. "We get to torture the shit out of him, but I want him to live with what we've done with him. Death is too good."  
  
"You do realize that he could go to the cops," James warned ominously.  
  
"We live in the Wizarding world. What cop would get us here? Besides, when he says that it was his nephew and his dead family, they would either ask what he had done to me to deserve such treatment or just send him to the mental ward."  
  
"We need to simply put him in a place where he can't tell anyone," Severus interjected.  
  
"Look, less talking, more traveling!" Harry stamped his foot. "You guys convinced me to go, so let's go!"  
  
_ ALANNA!!!!_ Draco yelled.  
  
_WHAT????_ came the irritated scream in reply.  
  
_ LOWER THE WARDS ON PRIVET DRIVE AND VERNON!!!!! _Harry screamed back.  
  
_DONE! WHY???_ came Xander's equally irritated voice.  
  
_WE'RE GONNA PLAY WITH HIM!!!!!_ Lily screamed.  
  
_Oh. Have fun!_ The link was completely closed off.  
  
The five demigods and Remus grinned at each other and Apparated.  
  
  
  
Voldemort's head shot up and he grinned evilly. "The wards of Privet Drive have been dropped. Let's move."  
  
Wormtail, Lucius Malfoy, and McNair Apparated alongside their Lord.  
  
  
  
Harry, Draco, Lily, Severus, Remus, and James appeared on the Dursley's front step the same time the Voldemort, Wormtail, Malfoy Senior and McNair arrived.  
  
The two groups of people just stared at each other, jaws agape in astonishment. Finally, Harry broke the silence. "All right, why are we standing around? I wanna torture the bastard!"  
  
Voldemort sneered, thinking mistakenly that Harry was talking about him. "Oh, really, young Potter. And how do you propose to subdue me long enough to torture me?"  
  
James glared at him. "Not you, you pathetic piece of shit! His damnable ex- uncle!"  
  
"Can we kill him now? How about now?" Harry asked impatiently, shifting from foot to foot.  
  
Voldemort gaped, finally realizing exactly who the people on the step were. "But- NO! I KILLED YOU! You're dead!!!" He yelled, his eyes wide with fear. Wormtail whimpered and hid behind Voldemort's cloak, terrified.  
  
_We'll get you later, worm, _Lily thought savagely, envisioning the lying, backstabbing little shit stuck inside an iron maiden, with other rats to chew pieces off of him while he was still alive.  
  
"Oh, come off it, Moldie Voldie. You can't kill a Demigod," James drawled, bored. "Come on, Harry, we have a score to settle." He took Harry's arm and turned to the door.  
  
"But I saw you die- wait! Where are you going??? Wormtail, get off of me!" Voldemort yelled sharply, tugging the man from his cloak.  
  
"But- but Master," he squeaked. Voldemort glared at him and he fell silent.  
  
"We are going to do bodily harm to the damnable pedophile in this house. Stay out of our way," Remus snapped.  
  
"How about now? Can we? How about now?" Harry asked.  
  
"No! You two are dead, I killed you myself," Voldemort yelled, gesturing at Lily and James, "and can't be demigods or that would mean that Potter-" he dropped his hand, looking terrified at the Boy-Who-Lived. "Oh shit."_ This means that I could die at any given point because I'm sorely outclassed. They could obliterate me without breaking a sweat. This is bad_.  
  
Harry grinned crookedly. "Yeah, that would be bad. Fortunately for you, we aren't interested in your miserable existence. I have a message to send to your Master. The-Boy- Who-Lived is going to kick his ass. Oh, but, he already knew that, didn't he?" He turned to Lucius, his eyes sparkling. "Tell him Mother's calling and it's time for him to come home for a spanking."  
  
Lucius sneered. "Thank you for the message, Potter. Send Mother my regards and pity that she couldn't find anyone more capable of taking me on."  
  
"Clautius, Clautius," Harry scolded. "Mother would only send the best. What makes you think we can't take you on and win?"  
  
Lucius's face twisted. "Because I am second to none and Mother's equal-"  
  
"And antithesis, yadda yadda yadda." Harry yawned. "You are so full of it, Older Brother. Don't you ever get tired of hearing yourself talk? I know I'm tired of hearing your voice already. It's just so dull."  
  
Lucius snarled and lunged for Harry, only to be stopped by a wall of icy blue. "Really, Clautius, can't you get more power out of that one?" James asked, sneering. "Oh yes, that's right. You like to possess MORTALS and they'll explode if you try to overpower them."  
  
"Oh, and Clautius?" Harry asked, regaining Satan's attention. He linked with Draco and raised as much of their power they could, turning a blinding white. "Leave my soul mate's father out of this." The conjoined Demigods shot a beam out, striking Lucius in the chest and enveloping him in an instant.  
  
_OUT!!! _They bellowed together, forcing Clautius from Lucius's mind. They in turn possessed Draco's father, weaving protection spell upon protection spell to guard him from further manipulation.  
  
Lucius sagged and the two of them gently lowered him to the ground, rushing over and healing any injury he might have sustained. "Father," murmured Draco, cradling him.  
  
Lucius opened his eyes and smiled. "Thank you, son. I knew you could do it. Now, to take care of business." He stood up, waving off any assistance Harry offered and strode to Voldemort. "YOU BASTARD!!!!" he screamed, spittle spraying from his lips. He reached back and, with all his might, slammed the Dark Lord across the face.  
  
"Consider this my resignation, you shit. Tell your Master to FUCK OFF!" he hissed. Voldemort wiped the blood and spit from his face, grinned and opened a link through Lucius's Dark Mark, making the elder Malfoy grunt, his face blanching with pain. He slowly collapsed, grabbing the Mark.  
  
Draco turned, and with a growl that had Harry instantly thinking of other things, tossed the Dark Lord into the nearest bush. He turned back around and grabbed the agonized Lucius.  
  
Harry and Draco each hovered their hands over the Mark and, within seconds, it was gone, the link forever snapped. Lucius stared at his forearm in shock and promptly fainted. Draco sighed and Apparated his father back to the Manor, calling over his shoulder telepathically, _don't start without me!  
_  
Voldemort glared at Harry, incensed that he had just lost his best Death Eater. Harry just sighed and stuck out his arm, opening the front door. Voldemort caught the door, pushing it shut. "I'm the evil Dark Lord, I get to torture him," he said darkly. "Besides, you owe me for Lucius."  
  
"No," Lily snapped, grabbing Voldemort's arm and ripping it from the door. "Harry has dibs."  
  
"No he doesn't!" Voldemort yelled, looking like a very dangerous child about to throw a tantrum. A VERY DEADLY tantrum. "He humiliated me in front of my Death Eaters and I want to make him pay!"  
  
_ Are you thinking what I'm thinking?_ James asked Lily privately.  
  
_ I want something in return, Love.  
  
Wormtail?  
  
Got it in one.  
  
We can trade after Harry has some fun, thereby keeping our end of the bargain.  
  
Good plan. Do we announce it now or later?  
  
Later. I want to have some fun at Moldie Voldie's expense.  
  
_ "Sorry, Harry has dibs," James spoke finally, crossing his arms over his chest.  
  
Harry glared at the adults. "Come on, I wanna torture him! Can we please go in now?"  
  
Voldemort stared at him suspiciously. "Why are you advocating that he torture his own relative?"  
  
Harry glared at the Dark Lord. "I am NOT related to that sad sack of shit!!!! Uncle by MARRIAGE!!!" Draco appeared next to him and automatically slid his arm around Harry's waist, offering much needed support.  
  
"That doesn't matter! You're supposedly a nice person. Why are you so eager to cause this person who as fed and clothed you indescribable amounts of pain? What did he do to you to deserve your hatred?" Voldemort asked, confused.  
  
Draco spoke up for the first time since returning. "Harry, love, why don't you show the nice Dark Lord exactly why you get dibs?"  
  
Harry whimpered slightly, but at Draco's encouragement, shot his hand out, capturing the Dark Lord in an envelope of viridian. Memories streamed from him, assailing Voldemort.  
  
Five year old Harry stood at the table, a stack of plates on one arm and a basket of silverware in his other hand. "It would be cool if the table could set itself," he muttered, already tired from the long day of gardening. All of a sudden, the plates flew from his hands and landed on the table in the right places, the silverware settling neatly by each plate. Harry stared in amazement, until the shrieked "WHAT ARE YOU DOING???" made him jump and lose his concentration. The silverware fell with a clatter, and a knife landed on the floor.  
  
"FREAK!!!!" screamed Aunt Petunia, hauling Harry to his cupboard and throwing him inside. "Just WAIT until Vernon hears about your behavior!!!" She slammed the door shut, locking it.  
  
Harry huddled in his cupboard under the stairs, fearfully cowering into the corner. _He's gonna kill me. I know it. I didn't mean to make those plates dance. I thought it was funny. Why can't I just be normal?  
_  
Late that night, the door to the cupboard was ripped open and Vernon hulked in the harsh glare of the hallway light, ominous shadows covering the trembling boy. "Hello, freak. Did you think your disobedience would go unpunished?" he sneered, grabbing Harry by the throat and hauling him out into the hallway. Harry dangled helplessly, terrified and Vernon tossed him into the air like a rag doll and backhanded him across the face, slamming him into a wall. "You're going to get it, freak."  
  
_ Somebody- anybody- help me, _Harry thought desperately as Vernon ripped his pants off of him, slamming against the wall with enough force to knock the boy into oblivion.  
  
_Loud Christmas Carols playing in the background  
_  
Harry could see the party going on from a crack in the cupboard door. It had been going on for hours. Dudley kept receiving presents-a total of forty five, now. Harry knew that more would be coming with the arrival of Aunt Marge. That could guarantee at least another fifteen. In the eight Christmases he had been with the Dursleys, he couldn't remember once receiving a gift or any token of affection, yet Dudley received over fifty for Christmas every year. Harry pressed his face to his cot and wept bitterly. It hurt him deeply, and though he tried to tell himself otherwise, he could feel it. _The human soul can only take so much pain before it withers and gives up, _he thought angrily. He lay there for another hour before the cupboard door was wrenched open. Vernon loomed unsteadily in the doorway. He was obviously drunk.  
  
"Hey, youse freak" he slurred. "youshe better behave yourshe-shelf. I don't want the othersh to know youse exist. So shuchurse frigging trap and shtay that way orse I'll have to ream youse a new one when the frigging room shtops shpinning."  
  
He went to lumber off, but Harry timidly spoke up. "Uncle Vernon," He hoped his uncle was too drunk to think rationally. "I haven't had anything to eat all day. Can I please have some food?" he held his breath, hoping.  
  
"Youse think I'd washte food on a frigging freak like youse?? Get yourshe ass back in that rat holshe, you pashthetic wormshe!" He threw Harry back into the cupboard, slammed the door, and locked it. "Fucking freak." Vernon carefully enunciated. "Little greedy bastard. 'Give me food!' He won't eat for a week for that one." He lumbered off to drink more booze and party harder.  
  
Two hours later, Petunia snuck by with two ham sandwiches. "Here," she hissed, thrusting them into the cupboard. She walked off and twenty minute later reappeared with a liter bottle of water. "I don't know when I'll get to come by unnoticed again. Don't drink all of it at once."  
  
Harry sat under a tree in the park across the street, nursing his broken arm. _Damn Dursleys. I wish they would just leave me alone,_ he thought wistfully, shifting to avoid putting pressure on his already painful elbow and wrist. _Happy birthday to me,_ he thought dourly. Concentrating, a familiar green glow surrounded his fingers of his good hand and he pressed them to his elbow, healing the damage. Biting his lip, he did the same to his wrist.  
  
Ten peaceful minutes later, he was still under the tree, lightly dozing. A dark shadow fell over him and a foot connected with his thigh. "Wake up, freak."  
  
Harry opened and shielded his eyes, staring at his cousin warily. "What?" he croaked, shifting his weight.  
  
"Freak, you better get out of here," Dudley spoke low and fast. "Dad's home and the budget cut meeting was today. I may hate you but he's ready to kill."  
  
"BOY!!!!!" came the bellow from across the street.  
  
Dudley turned the color of paper. "I'm gonna grab your arm and you're gonna get away from me, got it???" Harry hastily nodded.  
  
Vernon stormed to the front door and started across the street. "FREAK!!!! Get over here!!!!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs.  
  
Dudley grabbed the now healed arm. "I've got him, Dad!!!" he yelled back enthusiastically. "Now GO!!!" he hissed to Harry.  
  
Harry jerked his arm free and kicked Dudley in the shins, turning and running as fast as he could. He could hear raised voices behind him and ran harder. _I hope that Dudley isn't getting it too badly,_ he thought to himself, getting his second wind. _Wait, what am I saying? Dudley wouldn't get hurt. They spoil him!  
_  
He hung out in town all day, dreading going back. _If I go back he'll just punish me more,_ he thought wearily two hours after sunset, slowly making his way back to the Dursleys. _But, where else do I have to go?_ He arrived on Privet Drive and sat in the park on a swing for a while, feeling the familiar hunger pangs resonating throughout his body. Twenty minutes later, Petunia walked out the front door with a small shopping bag. She crossed the street and sat down next to Harry, holding out the bag.  
  
"Why are you helping me?" he asked dully, taking the bag and eating the sandwiches inside.  
  
"I may not like you and hate it when you make weird things happen but you aren't going to starve." Unlike Vernon, the unspoken thought was shared by the two of them.  
  
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Duddikins, happy birthday to you!"  
  
Harry watched the festivities from the kitchen where he was stirring the bacon. Dudley sat at the head of the table, with thirty five presents in front of him. Harry hung his head, softly crying to himself. In two weeks it would be his birthday, and no one would know. He would be seven years old, and no one would care. He carefully drained the bacon, and started on the eggs and toast. It was so unfair. Why did they hate him? Why did Uncle Vernon hit him, hurt him, and sometimes, when no one... _DON'T THINK ABOUT THAT_! he ordered himself sternly. There's nothing you can do about it, anyway.  
  
Harry screamed in pain as his arm came into full contact with the scalding pan. He knocked the bacon off the stove in his haste to shove his arm under the faucet. "MUM!! HARRY'S RUINING MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!" Dudley howled then watched with undisguised glee and hatred as his parents stormed into the kitchen.  
  
"You FREAK! You ruined my precious Duddikin's birthday!" Petunia wrenched Harry away from the sink and pinned him to the refrigerator. She slapped him across the face, raking him with her nails. Blood welled and oozed from four long gashes that covered his face from ear to ear. "You damn pathetic freak!" She slammed his head against the fridge over and over, until Harry was reeling and seeing explosions of light in his vision. _Oh, this is going to hurt tomorrow,_ he thought dully as Vernon took over. The obese man decked him across the face with his ham sized fist then drove a knee into Harry's stomach. Harry dropped to the floor, his vision going grey. He was vaguely aware that someone was making a high pitched whimpering sound, and was mildly surprised to find out it was himself. As he blacked out from the pain, he felt something heavy slam into his stomach to the rhythm of his heart beat. _They're kicking me...._ he thought as the blackness took him into blessed relief.  
  
Vernon came home from work swearing profusely.  
  
"What's wrong, Vernon?" Petunia asked, gasping at his purple engraged face.  
  
"They're cutting costs and MY department is on the board!!!!" he bellowed, slamming his fist against the wall.  
  
"Oh NO! How is this going to affect us???" Petunia wailed, clutching the banister for dear life.  
  
"I don't know yet," Dursley growled.  
  
Two hours later, Harry heard the heavy tread of his uncle make its way downstairs. He cowered under his blankets, dreading what he knew would come. _Maybe he won't,_ he thought, hoping against all hope.  
  
The cupboard door was ripped open and a humongous, heavy hand slammed into him, dragging him out. "No, don't," Harry gasped futilely.  
  
"Shut up, freak," was his only reply. The monster flung him to the floor like a rag doll, whipping off his belt. Harry tried to crawl away, but Vernon stomped on his ankle, shattering the bones. He let out a grunt of pain, the world swimming in front of his eyes.  
  
_Oh, no... _he moaned, feeling the hands fumbling to undo his pants, the hot, panting breath in his ear, the feeling of the belt coming down on his painfully thin shoulder blades.  
  
"Guess what, Freak? I have a present for you," The enormous man hissed.  
  
Harry felt a line of fire down his back, and another, and another. Desperately, he shoved a fist in his mouth, gagging, because if he cried out there'd be even more broken bones and it would last for hours instead of minutes. Desperately, he tried cataloging potions ingredients, first by alphabetical order, then by properties, and them moved on to Defense spells, and then Charms, trying desperately to keep his mind from focusing on the pain and the hurt and the fear and the humiliation.  
  
Harry sat there on the carpet, amusing himself. _WHEE!!!! This is FUN!!!_ he giggled with delight as he spun the pretty red stuff (fire) and the clear wet stuff (water) around the room. "Duddy gets toys, Hawwy gets no toys, so Hawwy makes toys" Harry spoke in a singsong voice. He was only three and a half, and very proud of that half. It was only a week after Christmas, and Dudley had gotten twenty presents. Harry had received none, as usual, and had been confined to his cupboard, but he didn't care about that. All he cared about was that he could make pretty colors fly around the room.  
  
"I wish I could watch TV" Ping! The Television turned on. Harry watched as a man with funny white hair and sparkly clothes (Sigfreid and Roy) drove a big, fuzzy white and black cat through a ring of the pretty red stuff. "WOW! I wanna try!" Harry screwed his face up in concentration as he stared at the TV. "I want the KITTY!" He pointed in frustration at the TV. One of the stones from the hearth floated over to his outstretched hand. It turned into a stone tiger, and it ran around the room. "NICE KITTY!!!" he squealed. A ring of the pretty red stuff appeared in front of the lion, just like on TV! The nice kitty jumped through the hoop, then went swimming in the pool of water that appeared in midair.  
  
Harry stared awestruck as the man with funny white hair put his head in the pretty kitty's mouth. "I want that!" A stone figure of Uncle Vernon formed and walked over to the stone tiger. He put his head in the tiger's mouth, then stepped back, triumphant, in direct imitation of what was happening on TV. "Uncle Vewnon mean... He didn't give Hawwy pwesents. Mean, mean uncle Vewnon..." he pouted. The stone tiger turned to stone Uncle Vernon angrily, licking its chops. Uncle Vernon ran around the room, and the tiger chased him. The stone man hid in between the books on the bookshelf, peering out cautiously. After ten minutes of prowling back and forth, the tiger gave up. It sat down, next to Harry, and the thin three year old scratched its head. It purred happily. Stone Uncle Vernon crept out of his hiding place. "I want pwesents..." Gaily wrapped packages began flying out of the chimeney. "Yay!" Harry stood and clapped his hands. "Kwismas!" The tiger turned and pounced on stone Uncle Vernon, and ripped his head off. "Bad Uncle Vewnon, bad, bad..." he turned and saw the tiger mauling the stone man. He clapped his hands to his face. "Uh-oh!"  
  
"BOYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!! WHAT IS GOING ON???? WHRE DID- HOW DID- UUURGH!!!!!" The real Uncle Vernon stormed into the room, and promptly tripped over one of the many wrapped presents. "You LITTLE FREAK!!!!!!!!!" He picked himself up and slammed his fist into Harry's surprised face.  
  
Harry's hands shot up to instinctively protect himself. The fist never made it. A massive tidal wave shot out of Harry's crossed arm and forced Vernon to fly out the window, a torrent of water gushing after him. A sputtering Vernon sprinted back into the house, one thought on his mind. _Kill the FREAK._ Harry ran to his cupboard and shut the door. Vernon ripped the door of its hinges with a roar. He threw himself on Harry and punched him repeatedly. Nothing Harry could do fazed him, not even when he threw a wall of fire at Vernon's face. If anything, it infuriated Vernon beyond reason. "Oh, you little freak, I'm gonna hurt you so bad you won't be able to walk for a month!"  
  
He held Harry by the throat and choked the boy till he was on the verge of unconsciousness, then roughly flipped him over. "Freak, I've wanted to hurt you like this for a long time...." He trailed off as sweat began to bead and drip down his face. He ripped off Harry's pants and covered him with his body. Roughly, he undid his own pants and tried to slam into the tiny child. A thin wail erupted from Harry's mouth as a spike of agony traveled up his spine. "Shit, you're too tight. I-I-I- There we go..." He forced himself into Harry. Blood streamed out of the abused boy as he screamed and screamed. After several minutes of indescribable hell, the enormous man pulled out and stumbled out of the cupboard and up the stairs. "I'd like to see you magic your way out of that, freak."  
  
The memories went on for almost fifteen minutes before Draco could pull Harry from his self induced trance. _Harry?_ he asked, worried. Harry just shook his head and stared at the Dark Lord.  
  
Voldemort was curled up into the fetal position, crying and screaming for his mommy. Harry, in a moment of weakness, took out Mr. Snuffles, Voldemort's long lost stuffed bunny, enlarged it, and handed it to the Hysterical Dark Lord. Voldemort took it, his eyes wide. "You- you found him! Mr. Snuffles!" he hugged the rabbit and shakily stood up, staring at Harry with a mixture of pity and understanding. "Go ahead, Potter. He's all yours," he stuttered, his face still bone white. "Just- can I watch?"  
  
Harry grinned evilly, James and Lily following suit. "Of course!" Harry chirped eagerly and they threw open the door, revealing a mangy, drunk Vernon Dursley.  
  
"Who're you and whaddo yoush want?" he slurred, blearily staring at them through bloodshot eyes. He raised a bottle of beer to his fat, unshaven face, licked his lips, took a long swig, and belched heartily into Voldemort's face.  
  
Everyone stared at him with revulsion. Voldemort looked as if he might just pass out from the fumes. With a snarl, he raised his wand, but Harry and Draco beat him to it, raising their hands and pushing outwards. Thick ropes wrapped themselves around Dursley's meaty arms and legs, pulling him back inside and splaying him face up on the carpet in the living room. Everyone glided into the house.  
  
Harry blinked at the condition of the house. Everything was either filthy or completely broken. The Television, an armchair, and an end table were the only things in the room that were actually workable, and they were crusted with unimaginable filth. Pizza boxes and beer cans littered the hallway and carpeted floor, and paper plates were stacked three feet high all over the place. Harry banished everything, in order to give all of them a sanitary place to work.  
  
"Youse, whatsh the fucsh??????" he half yelled, trying to sit up. The ropes held him fast and he craned his head, staring at them with utmost confusion. "Why am I tied down?" he asked, his voice surprisingly steady and calm.  
  
Harry strode into the captive's line of sight. "Hello, Vernon," he purred, grinning evilly.  
  
"Just - just great! I'm finally hallucinating!" Vernon snapped, rolling his eyes. "Great, I knew I'd get delirium tremors from this! My liver's gone! All gone," he added in a singsong.  
  
Draco grimaced, plugging his ears. "Can someone shut him up?" he complained bitterly. "He sounds like a hippogriff that had its tail stepped on by a giant."  
  
McNair snickered behind his mask. Harry grimaced. "You know, since we're working together, we might as well call a truce," he said to Voldemort. "What do you say? Twenty-four hour truce to torture this bastard?" He held out his hand.  
  
To the amazement of everyone there, Voldemort took his hand eagerly. "I brought a guidebook!" he exclaimed, pulling out 'Torture for Dummies' and handing it over.  
  
Severus snickered, taking the book from his nephew. "Don't you have enough knowledge to write this book?" he asked wryly.  
  
"This is the updated version, with some very good ideas! All though, I'm not sure what a Teletubby or a Barney is," Voldemort mused, taking the book back from Severus and scanning the pages. Harry smothered his guffaw with a loud string of coughs, his face turning red.  
  
Severus pounded Harry's back, shaking with laughter himself. "I'm sure that Harry can explain exactly what those are," he muttered.  
  
Harry stared at the television fearfully. "You'd better not turn that thing on," he warned ominously. "It's one o'clock, which is Barney and Friends."  
  
Draco shuddered, having seen Harry's memories of the traumatic event. "Don't touch that dial."  
  
"Well, what shall we do first?" Lily asked, rubbing her hands together with undisguised glee.  
  
"Well, I only need a knife, some lighter fluid and a lighter," Harry casually stated, eyeing Vernon with malice.  
  
Voldemort stared at him. "That doesn't sound too inventive," he muttered.  
  
"Just wait till you see what I'll do with it," Harry promised savagely.  
  
Draco shuddered. "You wouldn't," he gasped.  
  
Harry grinned evilly. "Eye for an eye, Draco. Let the punishment fit the crime." With a wave of his hand, Vernon was as naked as the day he was born. Everyone stared, morbidly amused at the pale pink bunny rabbit that sat in place of the monster's penis.  
  
Severus grinned. "I'd forgotten that was there," he chuckled, poking at it with Voldemort's wand. The rabbit perked its ears up, its eyes sparkling. He waved his hand again and it disappeared, reverting to its normal shape.  
  
"But it's so tiny," Lily giggled. "Make it do a trick!"  
  
Harry snickered. Voldemort stared at it thoughtfully, a faint smirk on his face. _So THAT'S how he managed to fit it inside a three year old. There wasn't anything there to begin with._ Harry blanched and stepped forward, conjuring a knife.  
  
Draco grinned, knowing exactly what was about to come. Harry directed the knife to cut hash marks from the edge of the monster's anus to the tip of his foreskin, going in first one direction and then the other. Dursley screamed, biting through his lower lip as he struggled to escape from his bonds. Voldemort had to walk away, the same as Remus. They both looked faintly green in the face. McNair pulled out a notebook and started taking notes, drawing diagrams and making variations.  
  
Lily turned to James and Severus, who were watching with identical smirks, clearly enjoying the pain and humiliation the pedophile was undergoing. "Do you think that if we give him free reign now, he'll want to do this again some time?" she asked worriedly.  
  
"I think he's fine, Lils. This piece of scum hurt him in the worst possible way. He wouldn't do this to anyone who didn't treat him any less badly," Severus whispered back. "Now stay quiet. You're ruining the screams." Lily stuck her tongue out but stayed quiet after that, content to watch.  
  
Harry concentrated deeply, willing the memories on the surface of his subconscious not to spill over into his thoughts. He forced them away by dealing with the situation in front of him and making the slices deep enough to really hurt, yet shallow enough not to sever anything. "There really is a scientific method to torture," he mused, biting his lower lip in concentration.  
  
Draco snickered. "Can I pour the lighter fluid?" he asked, bouncing from foot to foot in excitement. At Harry's nod, he conjured a bottle and, doused the hash marks liberally. Vernon gagged and threw up violently, howling in agony.  
  
"Oh shut up. The pain hasn't even started yet," Harry muttered. Lily stepped forward and stood next to her son, an arm around his shoulders.  
  
"Harry, love, can I light him up?" she asked, a pleading expression on her face.  
  
"But I want to!" he protested, pouting. He brightened. "I was planning on paying him back for the knife work he used to do on me, but he won't heal the way I did every single time." Remus and Voldemort walked back in to hear that last bit.  
  
Lily stared murderously at the pile of shit being held down by the ropes. "What knife work?" she, Remus, James, Severus, and McNair asked. Voldemort and Draco looked vaguely sick, as they both had seen the memories.  
  
"He used to carve obscenities into my skin, over and over. If I wasn't able to heal the way I do, I would have anything from 'Freak' and 'Bitch' to 'Whore' and anything else he liked to call me." Harry's eyes had grown distant, pain clouding them. Draco gripped his hand, and he shook his head, clearing it of unwanted memories.  
  
Lily grinned, conjuring a knife. James and Severus followed suit. "Can we do some carving of our own?" she asked gleefully.  
  
Harry nodded. "Leave me a space about three inches tall across the nipple line. Other than that, go for it."  
  
"Can we light them on fire?" Severus asked, grinning.  
  
"You read my mind," Harry said absently, conjuring a lighter. Vernon's eyes went wide and he started whimpering.  
  
"No! I'm sorry, please, please don't light it on fire, please, I- I- I'll do anything! This is some joke, right? Please, please!" His voice grew progressively higher as Harry lit the lighter and, a maniacal grin on his face, held the flickering flame to the monster's genitals.  
  
"Go ahead, Vernon," Harry hissed, his eyes a solid viridian. "Scream." With a whoosh, the lighter fluid ignited. Vernon screamed, and screamed, and screamed, and, just for the hell of it, screamed some more. Lily, James and Severus each grabbed a knife and started carving obscenity after obscenity on his chest, arms, legs, and anywhere they could reach. Soon, blood ran down in rivers, staining the carpet crimson.  
  
After about fifteen minutes of uninterrupted screaming, Harry put out the fire with a wave of his hand and leaned forward to grinning at the blackened flesh.  
  
"Why'd you put it out?" Voldemort asked curiously. "I'd have just let the entire thing burn."  
  
"But where's the fun in that?" Draco countered easily. "He still has the equipment, but now he can't use it."  
  
"What do you mean?" McNair asked, studying the burns with interest.  
  
Harry sighed. "Doesn't anyone in the Wizarding world have any idea of human anatomy?" Voldemort looked confused. "How the body works?" Vernon chose at that moment to moan and pass out. "Enervate."  
  
"Mediwizards, Mediwitches and Healers, but no one else really needs that stuff," James supplied.  
  
"All right, fine." Harry thought for a minute. "Scar tissue – you know what that is, right?"  
  
Voldemort glared at him. "We aren't stupid."  
  
"It shrinks in comparison to other skin tissue, permanently curving his penis." Harry continued, ignoring Voldemort. "Therefore, he'll never be able to achieve an erection again. The scar tissue will shrink, preventing him from doing anything but pissing out of it for the rest of his life. He'll never be able to hurt a child that way again."  
  
"Bloody brilliant," Severus mused. "I have a suggestion, though." He knelt down, examining the burns. "If we speed up the scarring, would it curve more, thereby ensuring it would never function properly again?"  
  
"I want him in pain for as long as possible," Harry pouted.  
  
Severus held up his hands in surrender. "All right, it's your call."  
  
Draco grinned, tousling Harry's hair. _Ain't he smart? And so demanding! _Lily snickered, tossing Harry a knife.  
  
"You turn, now." Harry went to work diligently, carving letters three inches high into the space left on Vernon's chest. He double-carved the word FREAK, peeling the quarter inch of skin in between lines away, and dousing it with lighter fluid and happily lighting it. Vernon started screaming again and again, arching and begging for relief.  
  
His screams continued on and on for hours as they came up with new and interesting ways to make him suffer for everything he had done to Magical children.  
  
  
  
Twenty hours later, having exhausted the diabolical genius of a Dark Lord, his minions, five Demigods, and a Werewolf, they all took a break from causing the pedophilic monster as much pain as humanly possible.  
  
"Well, now what?" Remus asked, magically cleaning the kitchen with a few well placed 'scourgifys.'  
  
_This place needs too be nuked,_Harry thought wryly, gagging at the filth of half eaten microwavable dinners, crusty takeout cartons, and abundance of beer bottles that spilled from the overflowing garbage. _This place isn't even habitable any more._ He shuddered with revulsion.  
  
Draco grimaced as an enormous cockroach scuttled across the floor. "This is SO gross!" he complained. "Can we hurry up and decide what to do so we can get out of here? I need a shower!"  
  
Harry shrugged. "Really, I didn't even plan THIS far. It was always some insane hope in the back of my head that I could hurt him as badly as he hurt me. I never thought about what to do afterwards."  
  
Lily grinned. "Well, do you mind if WE do something?" she asked sweetly.  
  
Harry shrugged again. "I don't really care. I'm not going to kill him because I want him to live with what we did to him."  
  
James grinned, a slow evil smile. "Oh, I think he'll have PLENTY of time to reflect on the evil he had committed."  
  
"Voldemort?" Lily asked easily.  
  
"Yes?" he asked, a bit nervously.  
  
"I have a business proposition for you." Grinning, she led him out of the kitchen and back into the living room, where they sat on the only two whole pieces of furniture left. Lily took the table while the Dark Lord perched on an armrest.  
  
"Well?" he prompted the Demigoddess.  
  
"You want Vernon, yes?"  
  
"I do want the bastard. He did humiliate me. Having him as a permanent party favor would be nice."  
  
"I'll give him to you if you give me someone we want."  
  
Understanding dawned on Voldemort's face. "You want the one who betrayed you."  
  
"Yes. Wormtail for Dursley."  
  
Voldemort thought it over for a minute._ The rat has outlived his usefulness, which means I can get rid of him. So, I get the best of the deal._ "Done!"  
  
Lily stood and extended her hand gleefully. "It's a deal, then."  
  
Voldemort shook her hand firmly. "You really aren't dead," he mused. "How the hell did this happen?"  
  
"Like I said- you can't kill an immortal. You merely ended my physical existence for a while. I came back when it got too boring up top," she smirked.  
  
Voldemort shook his head, more than a little confused and exasperated._ Bloody immortals! Never give you a straight answer!  
_  
Lily chuckled. "We say the same thing all the time, but it's 'Bloody Mother! She never gives you a straight answer!' instead."  
  
"Mother?" he asked curiously.  
  
Lily sighed. "God. I suppose Clautius never told you what is really going on and what this whole conflict is all about?" she asked quietly.  
  
"He gave me power. Why would I question that?" he asked. "Why are we talking about this? We're on different sides of the war."  
  
"The whole 'blood purity' issue is only the tip of the iceberg. Harry wasn't kidding when he said you are not his adversary, Clautius is. Don't get involved with the affairs of demigods. Mortals are the ones who suffer most in our conflicts. In a nutshell, Clautius wants to take over the universe. Earth isn't even a priority to him. All it is for him is a way to gain recruits, i.e. willing slaves to die for him. By the time he's done, Earth may not even be here any more. If you get out now, you may have a chance to escape him. As someone who had been fighting him for her entire life, you want as little to do with this as possible."  
  
Voldemort stared at her. "I'll think about it, but you have given me only speculation, not proof. Give me proof, and I'll think about it some more."  
  
Lily sighed. "That is for Alanna and your soul mate to do, if you even have one. It's not my place."  
  
Voldemort sighed and stood up. "As fun as this has been, I have to call an end to it. I'll collect my end of the bargain and leave you with yours." They walked back into the kitchen in silence.  
  
In the kitchen, Wormtail was sandwiched between the wall and an equally enraged Remus and James. "Just wait, you little shit. I swear, when we get through with you, you'll beg for Azkaban." Wormtail whimpered his eyes wide and his face pasty.  
  
"That sounds like an agreeable plan, Potter, Lupin," Voldemort stared with an evil grin, walking back into the kitchen. Lily gave her son a hug, grinning.  
  
"So, we'll see you sometime in the future, Voldemort," she said with an evil grin.  
  
He grinned back at her. "I'll take what you said into consideration. Come, McNair. We need to collect out trade." Wormtail moved to follow them, but Lily blocked his escape.  
  
Voldemort turned and, with a wave of his hand, severed the mental link between himself and the former Death Eater. "You are the other end of the trade, Wormtail. I release you from my service." With that, they disappeared into the other room.  
  
"But Master?" Wormtail asked, terrified. He shifted form and scurried into the other room. "NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" Wormtail howled, a blood chilling sound, from the other room. "YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME HERE!!!!!"  
  
Lily, James and Remus strolled into the other room and came back with a petrified rat. "Let's go home, loves," Lily announced, holding up the rat like a prize. "We have to make some people grovel."  
  
With that, they Apparated back to Hogwarts and into Dumbledore's office. The Headmaster jumped almost a foot when they all appeared inside his office.  
  
"Yes?" he asked shortly.  
  
Lily put the rat on his desk, smirking. "A present from Voldemort."  
  
"From Voldemort?" Dumbledore asked slowly, his eyebrows in his hairline. "How did you ever get him from Tom?"  
  
"Simple. My wife is a brilliant negotiator," James said smugly, his arms around his wife's waist.  
  
"What did you give him?" Dumbledore asked, almost afraid of the answer.  
  
"Someone who hurt one of my pack," Remus growled, hugging Harry.  
  
_Dursley. Can't say I'm surprised._ "I don't want to know any more," Dumbledore sighed with a wry smile. "That way, if Aurors come around, asking questions, I can't be incriminated by association. Just answer one question, though, before you go. Harry, did it make you feel better?"  
  
Harry stared him straight in the eye. "Yes." They left the office, an old man's chuckles the last thing they heard.  
  
.  
  
A/N: See what a little depression will give you? A KICKASS torture scene! On a more serious note, how do you work the quick edit thingie??? I can't get any text to appear in the edit part and it won't let me upload asterisks for telepathy any more. Is any one else having problems????? This is weirding me out and pissing me off!!! I can't get any bold or italics or anything to upload with the actual document and it won't let me fix it! Ok, I got it for the last chapter with the bold and italics and underline but I think you have to sign out and back in to do more than one chapter. This is pissing me off. I WANT MY ASTERISKS BACK, DAMN IT!!!!! (Eats a bar of chocolate) I wish this was Wizarding chocolate... oh well.  
  
B/N: Alrighty, people! Bidding for Demigods begins two days from now, so get your cookies ready! Now, this is an add on to the rules from the last chappie, and if you didn't read the B/N in the last chappie, please do so now.............. done? Ok, we are doing things a little complicatedly, so pay attention. You can bid on any two demigods, meaning they do not have to be soul mates in the story (we prefer that you don't split up soul mates, but the floor stays open as long as you don't horrifically traumatize them.... So no horrific traumatizing) and we are giving them away to the highest bidder, no matter the pairing. F. y. i. we cannot do multiple pairings and shit, so like, if somebody bids on a Lily/James and someone else bids on a James/Olivia (for what ever reason you would pick THAT pairing... shudder) then whoever bids highest gets the pair they ordered! And remember, all bids must be in by 11:59:59 on May 20, 2004! Then, the floor closes and no more biddy! Another thing, this is a Demigod auction, meaning if you bid on a character that is not a Demigod, we will not regard your bid. Just so you people don't get confused, here is the list of Demigods and their Soul mates:  
  
Harry and Draco  
James and Lily  
Severus and Laurel  
Alanna and Xander  
Gaila and Raphael  
Olivia and Michael  
Damien and Nicholai  
Godric and Salazar  
Rowan and Gabrielle  
  
A/N: Leave an e-mail address so we can contact you if you win. Oh, and the top three bids, (each of a different pairing,) gets the pair they bid on for the duration of the three days. LEAVE THE EMAIL ADDY SO WE CAN CONTACT YOU WITH FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS!!!!! YOU WILL LIKE THEM!!!!!!! Winners will be announced with Chapter 29! COME ON, BID!!!!! 


	29. Chapter 29

A/N: All right, the winner is chibichibi386, but no one voted for any other set of demigods! So, what I'm going to do is simply extend the invite to everyone else. All right, challenge time:  
  
You may write what you would do if you had any pair of the demigods for three days. It can be Porn without Plot (PWP), or a ficlet. It cannot be more than 5,000 words (ten pages on Microsoft Word). You have to write it as if you were there. No "If I had them, I would be...". It has to be "I have them with me and we're doing...". Got it? Good.  
  
And, I uploaded two new stories, both extremely short: one is six pages, the other is nine. Both are songfics and set to rather depressing songs. They are titled Just Like You and Forty Five, taken from and using the lyrics of the two songs by the same titles. So, read them or don't. They're there. Oh, and, please tell me, those of you who have read Just Like You, if you want me to continue it. I've already had a review to that effect, but I don't know where to go with it. Maybe a few flashbacks of training over the summer, and how Remus, Seamus, Dean and a few others wound up in the Death Eater ranks, or how they all survive being Death Eaters, maybe Hermione's story and Voldemort not killing all the Mudbloods...., or maybe the Ministry going belly up and Fudge and Umbridge being mauled by angry Blast-Ended Skrewts..... one can dream.... Anyway, here's the chapter. Enjoy.  
  
Chapter 29  
  
Harry and Draco stumbled into the Great Hall the next morning at seven a.m., still half asleep. Harry wearily laid his head down on the crook of his arm, falling back asleep at the table. Draco yawned and slumped over, fighting to stay awake.  
  
"We spent WAY too long at Privet Drive," Lily griped, looking as sleep deprived as her son. Beside her, James, Severus, and Remus were faring little better, all yawning and reaching for pots of extremely strong coffee. Emily, Ginny and Emily's father strode into the Great Hall cheerfully.  
  
"All right, your training starts now!" Commander George barked, grinning evilly. Harry shot into a sitting position.  
  
"Aunt Petunia, I'm up already!" he yelled, only half awake.  
  
James and Lily stared at him, shaking their heads, not comprehending in the slightest what was going on. Severus let out a soft snore, his head buried in his arms. Alanna and Xander Apparated into the Great Hall and stood there, blinking as they took in everything that was going on.  
  
"TROOPS!!!!" Commander George bellowed, making everyone wake up immediately. "FALL IN!!!!!" Sighing, Alanna and Xander walked over and stood in front of Commander George, waiting for further orders.  
  
"Fall in to what?" Draco mumbled, shaking his head to clear it.  
  
Emily smirked and walked over, pulling on their arms. "It means get up and get ready to walk out of here," she explained.  
  
"Who are the troops?" Harry wondered out loud.  
  
"You, Alanna, Xander, James, Draco, and Severus," Emily snapped, dragging Harry to his feet. "MOVE!!!!!!" she bellowed, sounding exactly like her father. Harry and Draco jumped.  
  
Ten minutes later, the three instructors (Emily, Ginny and Commander George) had managed to drag the still sleepy demigods outside and onto the Quidditch Pitch, which had been warmed to a still chilly sixty degrees, the snow melting and running into the lake. "All right, start running," the Commander instructed, glancing at a Magical watch. "GO!" Harry and Draco, having transfigured their customary clothing into running shoes, black terrycloth pants and tee shirts, took off, running easily.  
  
James and Severus stared at each other incredulously before following in the teenagers' lead, transfiguring their clothing as they went. Alanna and Xander brought up the rear, Alanna looking a little green and about to throw up. Xander watched her carefully, ready to catch her if she fell.  
  
_ Are you feeling all right, Love?_ he asked, worried.  
  
_ A little nauseous,_ she admitted._ I must have eaten something that disagreed with me.  
  
Don't worry if you get sick. Running will make you do that,_ he reassured her, holding her hand.  
  
Irritated, she yanked her hand from his._ I know that,_ she snapped. _I've been training in martial arts for how long?_ she took off, catching up to Harry and Draco. Xander rolled his eyes and continued at a steady pace.  
  
  
  
Dumbledore fire called Minister Fudge's office, dangling the now very much unpetrified rat by the tail. "Yes, Headmaster Dumbledore?" the bored secretary asked, chewing on the tip of her wand.  
  
Dumbledore sighed. "I need to speak with Minister Fudge right away. It's urgent," he calmly stated, ready to tear his hair out if the woman didn't do as he asked.  
  
Thankfully, Cornelius Fudge appeared in the fire within a minute, looking extremely harried. "Yes, Headmaster? I'm extremely busy right now," he snapped, wiping his sweating brow with a pudgy hand.  
  
"I have something I would like for you to do for me," Dumbledore politely started. "I would like you to verify the identification of a Death Eater we captured yesterday." Fudge nodded, and a minute later, stood in Dumbledore's office.  
  
Dumbledore produced the rat and Fudge choked. "Is this some sick joke?" he demanded angrily. "Do you really expect me to believe that Peter Pettigrew is alive, a Death Eater, and dangling from your fingertips?"  
  
Dumbledore produced a wand and forced Peter to revert to his human form. The pudgy, rat faced man quaked before the dumbfounded Minister of Magic. "Petrificus Totalis," the extremely bored Headmaster said, waving his wand. Peter Pettigrew fell over with a loud crash, shaking the floor.  
  
"Does that prove anything to you or do you need to examine him yourself?" Dumbledore asked stifling a yawn. Minister Fudge gulped and nodded absently, looking Pettigrew up and down.  
  
"I'll need to have him perform a spell to check his magical signature, and send a vial of blood for analysis, but," the Minister pulled up Pettigrew's left sleeve, gaping at the Mark. "I see. You weren't lying about that. As soon as the blood and signature check out I'll have the paperwork drawn up to exonerate Sirius Black. Posthumously, of course."  
  
"Actually, he isn't dead, simply detained." Dumbledore said absently, going over some school related paperwork.  
  
"Excuse me?" Fudge asked sharply. "I didn't hear you right. You are telling me that Sirius Black is still alive? He fell through the VEIL!!!! No one survives that!"  
  
"Actually, we have six people who have been through the Veil and come back out alive. Apparently, it leads to a different dimension in space."  
  
"Where??"  
  
"Hell, if I'm not mistaken."  
  
"WHAT????" Dumbledore watched the Minister as he passed out.  
  
"Well that went well," Dumbledore remarked to the petrified Pettigrew. Peter just rolled his eyes.  
  
  
  
Harry groaned, lying down on the grass of the Quidditch Pitch. _I thought I was in shape!!!_ he complained good-naturedly.  
  
Draco sighed, agreeing._ Quidditch does nothing for you!! This is ridiculous! I'm sweating harder than I ever have in my life!_ He angrily brushed limp tendrils of platinum from his eyes.  
  
"WHAT'RE YOU DOING LYING DOWN???" Commander George yelled. "GET UP!!!!!"  
  
Harry and Draco scrambled to their feet, swearing profusely. "Why?" Harry asked sullenly. "We finished the run, all five miles of it."  
  
"How do you know that?" Commander George asked curiously.  
  
"Well, around the Pitch is a quarter mile, I measured it myself. So, four times five is twenty. We ran twenty and we did it in pretty good time, too."  
  
"Oh." Commander George seemed to mull something over. Just then, the other four ran up and the three guys flopped on the grass, panting for air.  
  
"That was the longest I've ever run in my life," Severus gasped.  
  
Alanna smirked at them all, barely winded. She knelt down, sitting in Lotus position and started meditating. "Bitch," Xander grumbled. "She runs five miles every day. Every bloody morning before anyone else is up."  
  
_Hey, Alanna, could you start waking me up?_ Harry and Draco asked her eagerly. _We'll need it.  
  
Sure. The wakeup call is five a.m., and calisthenics afterwards.  
  
Sounds good.  
_  
They started paying attention just in time to hear Emily walk up. "Hey, Dad, could you get my computer from home? I want to use the 3D effects for planning the terrain and the movements of the opposition." He nodded and Apparated through the wards, returning two minutes later with a red and black laptop, printer, scanner, and modem. "Thanks, Dad," Emily kissed him on the cheek. "Ginny! I GOT IT!!!!" She Apparated in mid step.  
  
As soon as everyone had rested for five minutes, Cdr. George announced that everyone would be getting up at five a.m. to run and continue training. "Just great," griped James.  
  
"What did you say?" Cdr. George snapped. "I thought I heard a complaint!!!" He strode over to James angrily.  
  
"You dumbass, Potter! When will you learn to shut up?" Severus hissed angrily.  
  
"Hey. It's your soul mate. You go get her!" he shot back.  
  
"Your BEST FRIEND is there as well, idiot!" Severus snapped.  
  
"SHUT UP!!!!!!" Alanna screamed, her eyes still closed. Everyone jumped and closed their mouths. "Thank you." She went back to meditating with a small smile on her face.  
  
Two minutes later, she opened her eyes. "All right, I want pushups," Cdr. George produced a stopwatch, setting up five minutes. "You have five minutes to complete as many as possible. Minimum is one hundred." Everyone got into pushup position. "Go!"  
  
  
  
Twenty minutes later, the smirking Navy SEAL led the sweating and gasping Demigods into the Forbidden Forest. "Now, we're going to work on your stealth." He passed out paintball guns and five hundred paintballs to each of them. "The point is to not get hit while taking out as many of the others as possible. If you're hit in a nonvital point, keep going. A head shot or torso shot is considered lethal and you're dead. No magic and no deflecting shots." He handed out small maps, depicting a different specific location to each person. "Apparate to the position you have been given and start from there. The person who has the least amount of hits after a three hour time period passes. Any questions?"  
  
Harry grinned. _Just like Harry Hunting_, he thought with a smirk.  
  
Draco immediately protested. "Hey, no fair! He's going to win automatically! He already knows how to do this!"  
  
Harry grinned. "Hey, I'll trade my upbringing for yours anytime, Love."  
  
"Go!" Cdr. George yelled, checking his watch. Everyone Apparated, the Cdr. as well, unknown to anyone else. _I'm going to teach them a thing or two about stealth,_ he grinned, loading his own paintball gun and preparing to have fun.  
  
Harry grinned as he took off his shoes, rolled in a convenient mud slick next to a pond, stuck the rifle around his neck, and quickly climbed the nearest tree, shimmying up the branches with years of skill. _Now, this is the way to do it,_ he thought behind his carefully constructed shields. He cautiously crawled from branch to branch, moving west by three trees, his inborn compass flaring to life again._ I need to do this more often so I don't lose these skills,_ he promised himself. _Movement below!_ He looked down, seeing a flash of platinum blond amidst the trees fifty yards away. _I see you, Draco, he_ thought mischievously, carefully moving to sit directly over his unsuspecting soul mate, his own body completely indistinguishable from the branches. He cautiously lowered himself, raising the rifle.  
  
Draco looked up, directly at Harry, not seeing him. SPLAT! Bright pink paint covered his tee-shirt, right over his heart. "SHIT!!!!" he screamed. "WHO DID THAT?????"  
  
"Hey, Love," Harry called down softly. "I got you."  
  
"Harry, you dick, where are you???" Draco whirled around wildly, searching the ground for his elusive soul mate. "Come on, where are you?" Harry didn't reply, as he was already crawling away, trying to keep the branches as still as possible.  
  
_One down, four- no five to go,_ he thought to himself, almost not seeing the Cdr. with a gun, circling below the trees in the underbrush. _Hey, he's good!_ Harry thought, admiring the way he moved without even a ripple of the overgrown grass and bushes. He was about to raise his rifle when the SEAL ducked out of sight, his rifle going off. Xander stumbled from his hiding spot, a bush, swearing loudly. _He got him! Now, four!  
_  
Harry used the distraction to move quickly through the trees looking for his father, Severus, or Alanna. He found all three of them five minutes later within one hundred feet of each other, scoping each other out, daring someone to make the first move. Cdr. George made the move for them, taking out Severus in under a minute. Harry dispatched the other two just as quickly, both with head shots, moving quickly out of the immediate area.  
  
From his vantage point in the undergrowth, invisible to anyone on the ground (but not in a tree) Cdr. George stared at the two paint balls that seemed to come out of nowhere and tried to trace the angle. Harry watched, chuckling softly from thirty yards away, as he shot into the lower branches, completely confused. "Where the-" SPLAT! The Cdr. was cut off by Harry deliberately shooting him in the back of the head, turning his camouflage hat purple. "All right, you got me. Where are you?" he conceded.  
  
Harry quietly walked across the branches and climbed down right in front of him. "Boo!" he said, grinning.  
  
"How did you do that?" he asked, an eyebrow cocked. Draco walked up, followed by Xander and they stared at the mud covered Harry with frustration.  
  
Harry shrugged. "Draco was right. I do have an advantage to this as I used to have to hide from my cousin all the time or he'd pound me. I learned how to hide and climb really fast, and from there the hunting in return just followed."  
  
"Do that again," Draco instructed, everyone else nodding in agreement. "Show us how to get up there and hide so well."  
  
Harry obligingly shimmied back up the tree, everyone else took off their shoes and followed suit. "You have to climb higher," he instructed, seeing them stop after about four branches. "It'll hold your weight."  
  
"So how did you climb from branch to branch without causing a huge motion in the tree?" Alanna asked.  
  
"Years of practice?" Harry offered, demonstrating. "I think it's all about where you place your feet and how thick the branch is."  
  
"Interesting," Cdr. George said, quickly figuring out for himself how to move undetected from tree to tree. "This'll help our troops in heavily wooded areas, although this is really hurting my feet. And, I'm assuming that our hiding spots were all visible to you in the air, even though we couldn't see each other on the ground."  
  
They spent an hour following Harry's example and learning stealth in the trees, before Cdr. George called it for lunch. "You get an hour to eat and freshen up," he warned. "After that, we start again, this time the trees being off limits."  
  
Harry grinned. "Sound's like fun!" he chirped. Everyone else looked at him and groaned. "What?" he asked, confused.  
  
"Never mind, Harry," Draco groaned, shaking his head.  
  
"No! Tell me!" They continued arguing all the way to the castle.  
  
  
  
"For the fifth time, Sirius Black is alive!" Dumbledore massaged his aching temples. _I can see how they get angry with mortals, especially when they're as stupid as the man in front of me,_ he thought wearily.  
  
Fudge shook his head. "And you expect me to believe this cock and bull story about him being in Hell???" he snapped.  
  
"Look, give us until May to produce him. We will, we just have to go get him. Then, you can draw whatever conclusions you want."  
  
"Fine, fine," Fudge waved his hand. "Oh, Albus, I have a question for you," he produced a sheaf of papers about ten inches thick. "You don't mind, do you?"  
  
Dumbledore sighed. _There goes the rest of my day,_ he thought wearily. "Of course not, Cornelius. How can I help?"  
  
"Well, you see..." They spent the rest of the afternoon and the better part of the night going over new laws, treatises, and other matters of government that Fudge had no idea how to do.  
  
  
  
Ginny and Emily sat in front of the two networked laptops in the Chamber of Secrets, loading all the information the Werewolves, Drow and Vampires had compiled into a three dimensional simulation. Neville and Blaise were shooting pool on one table, Seamus and Eric were shooting pool on the other table and Luna was reading. "All right, I can create the Demon hordes," Ginny said absently, "if you program them to move in a specific pattern and attack scenario."  
  
"All right, now which area of the planet should I use?" Emily asked, staring at the maps and diagrams. "There are three different paths to the portals, twelve portals, and then the twelve worlds. While Laurel is most definitely on Clautius's world, Sirius could be anywhere. I know they're getting a meeting place, but that could change, he could be discovered, everything could go to Hell literally, and our plans could be for nothing."  
  
"That's why we need them to have at least a familiarity of the terrain of the different worlds, as many as possible. I hate this! I'm being left behind again, when all I want to do is go with them and help!" Ginny exploded, banging her fist against the table. "I could go, I could help but they won't let me! It isn't fair!"  
  
"Why not?" Emily asked. "The way you've been studying the layouts, you know them almost as well as the spies who get it."  
  
"I hate being tactical Ops," Ginny grumbled, keying in more data into the databank.  
  
"I know, me too. But I have to admit that they're all stronger than me so I'm not going with them. I'm on healing duty, which is a laugh. I would probably kill the person I was trying to help, knowing me."  
  
Ginny scowled and Neville ambled over. "You know, Gin, they only want to protect you."  
  
"But she's a demon," Luna said dreamily. "Everyone's overlooked the idea that maybe she can do magic in their realm without getting caught."  
  
"Yeah right," Blaise smirked. "Power is power and that much power will be detected no matter who it is."  
  
Emily sat, staring at the screen. "Not if... I need to see my father!" She Apparated away immediately.  
  
"What?" Ginny asked, confused. "Oh well." She went back to creating the three dimensional demons on the computer and planning the tracts of terrain.  
  
  
  
"Dad?" Emily asked quietly, coming up behind her father and the six muddy, sweaty, paint spattered demigods. "You were playing paintball?" she asked incredulously.  
  
"Tactical maneuvers, Em. The key words are tactical maneuvers," her father corrected her absently. "What is it, Emmy?"  
  
"I have a question. Actually, Luna brought it up. Ginny's a demon, right?" she asked, plotting.  
  
"Yes," Harry and Draco answered immediately.  
  
"And you two bonded blood with her, right?"  
  
"Yes," they answered again suspiciously, staring at her.  
  
"Which means you have Demon blood in you, right?" She grinned innocently.  
  
"Yes- wait, I don't know!" Harry gaped at her while Draco rapidly figured out where this was leading.  
  
"We're not going to chance it, Em. Whether or not we'll be detected is one thing but using magic and hoping they don't come crashing down on us is another."  
  
"No!!! I'm saying you can use spells before you go in and have them affect you! Like Invisibility spells or Speed spells or Endurance spells. Nothing big like Apparation, but you can cast them on yourself outside, go in, and have them still affect you!"  
  
Severus grinned. "Can I adopt Ginny?" he wondered aloud. _Then I could share her blood too and she's a nice kid and already Draco and Harry's sister.  
_  
Draco groaned, burying his face in Harry's shoulder. "That's not nice, Uncle Sev. Adopt her if you want her to be your niece, not just because of her powers!"  
  
Severus frowned. "That wouldn't be the only reason," he muttered.  
  
"Right..." Draco drawled. Severus just glared at them as they walked back to the castle.  
  
"So, would it work?" Emily asked, bouncing from foot to foot.  
  
"Actually, it should," Alanna said, furrowing her brow. "I think you've got something!" she exclaimed happily, hugging Emily and getting her full of mud. "Oops, sorry," Alanna giggled. "And then, they could cast the spells on the rest of us and it'll be so cool! We actually have a shot at this!!!!"  
  
_ What's up with her mood swings?_ Harry asked Draco quietly. Draco just shrugged.  
  
  
  
Two hours later, Harry was having the time of his life. Everyone else had been dispatched early on, and sat in the lower branches of the trees, watching avidly as Cdr. George and Harry circled each other, dodging, hiding, and trying to 'kill' each other. Harry had already taken a leg shot, while Cdr. George had a neon yellow splat right on his left buttock. _All right, where are you,_ Harry thought in exasperation. Movement! He scuttled to the left, and brought his rifle up to fire, when he suddenly stopped.  
  
He and Commander George stood up, their rifles trained on each other, both ready for the kill. "Bang!" they both said, smirking. Commander George walked over and shook his hand. "You want to be a Navy SEAL?" he asked hopefully. "You could get in, I'll guarantee it. You already have most of the abilities, and you should be up to par with the endurance by the time I'm done with all of you."  
  
Harry grinned. "I'll think about it," he promised. Draco hopped down.  
  
"No way in hell, Harry," he growled. "I'm not going to wait for you to come back after a six month deployment in some Godforsaken part of the world."  
  
"Hello- Apparation?" Harry smirked. "I could be home for dinner."  
  
"No."  
  
"You both could, although Draco would have to cut his hair," Severus began.  
  
"HELL NO!!!!" the blond demigod yelled.  
  
"Will you quit arguing?" Alanna snapped. "Let's do this again. I don't know about the rest of you but I want to be prepared!"  
  
With a wave of Severus's hand, everyone was clean. "Harry, how come you wind up so muddy?" he asked, staring at his nephew incredulously.  
  
"Don't take it off!" Harry protested, staring at his sparkling tee shirt in dismay. "Now I'll have to go roll in the mud again." he walked off, leaving Commander George to explain the finer points camouflage and how the mud and grass worked to Harry's and everyone else's advantage.  
  
  
  
Over the next several days, they ran in the morning, did calisthenics and weight training until lunch, ran some more, learned from Alanna's memories about various martial arts, and then worked in their groups of three, learning to coordinate their movements without telepathy or anything that Clautius could intercept. For Severus, Harry and Draco, that meant working almost exclusively on their shielding and employing the stealth techniques Harry and Severus had learned as a result of their pasts. Draco even got over his upbringing enough to employ Harry's camouflage techniques, but he spent the next two hours scrubbing himself clean with Harry willingly helping him.  
  
They practiced because, at the end of the week, they would be working with paintball guns against each other again in the forest, team against team, and both teams against a Navy SEAL team Commander George was bringing in. It would be interesting to say the least. So, they practiced over and over, pushing themselves to the ends of their endurance, one day blurring into another.  
  
Finally, at six a.m. the day before term started, the three groups faced off in the Forest. "All right, you have your assignments," Cdr. George said, handing out pieces of paper with coordinates on them. You must remain in contact at all times with your group members, and the team with the least amount of people hit the least amount of times wins." He paused as Draco raised a hand. "Yes, Mr. Malfoy?"  
  
"But your guys have twice as many people on the team."  
  
"They aren't telepaths," Commander George explained wearily. _Trust him to find something to complain about.  
_  
"I'm not complaining!" Draco protested, then caught himself. "Um, yeah, I am," he admitted quietly.  
  
Harry laughed and hugged him. "Hey, Love, relax. We're faster and more powerful. Besides, we have Alanna's memories, should anything go wrong. What's to worry about?"  
  
Draco grumbled. _It's not fair. We have to up against fully trained SEALS. We have no chance in hell of winning.  
  
But think of how much better at this we will be. Relax, Draco. We don't have to beat them.  
  
But I want to!_ Draco turned impossibly huge silver eyes up to his soul mate._ I want to, Harry.  
  
If you two are done,_ Alanna's cool voice broke into their thoughts. _We would like to start sometime in the next century.  
_  
Harry grabbed Draco's hand and Apparated, along with Severus to a completely still part of the Forbidden Forest about a five minute hike from the spring they had frequented for the better part of the school year. _Hey! _Draco exclaimed, looking around, _I know where we are!  
_  
_ And I know some good hiding spots,_ Harry grinned evilly, leading them forward. _First, let's get muddy.  
  
Only if you promise to scrub me clean afterwards,_ Draco hissed back.  
  
Severus just rolled his eyes.  
  
Five minutes later, the three of them looked like they had taken on mud monsters and lost. Harry shoved Severus up a tree and Draco into the next, and himself in a third. On Harry's count, they moved, allowing his expertise and inborn compass guide them into a loose triangle formation almost one hundred yards away from their landing point. They sat in the trees for almost an hour before Harry saw movement. Dead ahead. Let's do it. Noiselessly and effortlessly, they dropped from the trees, sliding into the dense undergrowth with ease. They tracked the movement for over twenty minutes before Harry saw his shot.  
  
_ Fire,_ Harry thought, letting a paint ball fly. THWACK! It hit someone, James, straight in the bum, and he let out an earsplitting screech. _Ouch! Sorry, Dad,_ Harry thought, laughing as his father hopped around, yelping in pain. Severus finished him off with a shot to the back of the head, sending him flying forward into the dirt.  
  
"You shitheads!!!" he swore violently, rubbing his head and smearing the paint even worse. Harry bit back a giggle.  
  
_There. Movement to the left._ He waited for the shot and took it. Alanna stood up, her face splattered with paint.  
  
"Sonovabitch!" she swore, stalking out of the bushes angrily.  
  
Xander crouched almost five feet away, looking for any sign of the attack that had taken out his other two team members. THWACK!!!! "OUCH!!!" he yelped, seeing the purple, blue and green paint covering his tee shirt. "Guess I'm dead," he said ruefully, standing up and walking over to his team mates. They Apparated from the Forest to clean up.  
  
Harry, Draco and Sev took to the trees again, moving quickly due south before resting for almost forty five minutes, eating lunch quickly, and then continuing when the heard soft noises below. We can't let them see us, Draco panted, sliding from branch to branch. Severus, one tree to the right, couldn't agree more as he slid into the next tree Harry, to Draco's left, landed on an upper branch and saw, to his chagrin, a Navy guy sitting in the lower branches, watching the ground avidly.  
  
_ Stay for a minute,_ he sent his team. Harry noiselessly dropped down and grabbed the SEAL, tightening his arms around his neck in a classic choke hold. "Snap," he said out loud, next to the startled man's ear. "You're dead."  
  
Amused brown eyes met green. "You did that well," the unknown soldier whispered and climbed down, sitting on the ground. Harry climbed back up, watching as another SEAL sidled next to the downed soldier. "I'm dead, broken neck," the first one announced cheerfully. The other one sidled back, disappearing into the undergrowth.  
  
_They're in this area,_ he sent worriedly. Draco looked down to see a camouflage jacked below him. He fired, and the jacket jerked.  
  
"I'm hit," came an unfamiliar voice as the soldier slid out of the grass wincing and rubbing his back. "Chest wound, give me morphine and say a prayer. I'm conscious enough to tell you before I die they're in the trees." He Apparated out of the forest. Draco swore softly and shifted to another tree, and then another. Harry and Severus scattered as well, taking trees in an equilateral triangle about sixty feet apart. They scanned the terrain, anxiously trying to spot movement anywhere. Suddenly, Severus slipped, swearing loudly. A shot was fired, Harry tracking its origin. He sighted and fired, taking out the shooter. The yellow splattered SEAL stumbled from the bushes, the paint in an obvious kill zone.  
  
"I'm out," he sighed, Apparating out of the Forest.  
  
Up in the tree, Severus continued to curse quietly. _It's my leg,_ he sent his team mates. _I was hit in the leg, nothing fatal. Did you get the ass who shot me?  
  
Yup, he's dead.  
_  
Severus slowly aimed his rifle, staring at the bushes under the tree that housed his godson. _Draco? There's a SEAL right under you, THERE!_ he shouted triumphantly, taking him out. _Got him!  
  
Two down-OOF!_ Draco yelled, his muddy tee shirt bright green over his heart. _I'm hit, Harry and its lethal. _He Apparated, leaving Harry and Severus to find and take out the last two members of the Navy team.  
  
_ Where did that paintball come from?_ Harry asked, staring at the spot his soul mate had just occupied.  
  
No clue and I can't see anything! Severus shot back, frustrated._ OWWW!! SHIT!!!_ he suddenly yelled, in quite a bit of pain. _That STINGS!  
  
_ _Where'd you get hit???_ Harry demanded worriedly.  
  
_ Straight on the ass!!!  
  
We better bloody move!_ Harry snapped, sliding to another tree, Severus doing the same. Suddenly, he was hit in the back and lost his balance, falling out of the tree. "FUCK!!!" he screamed, his magic stopping him inches from hitting the ground. "I'm out!" he yelled in frustration. Seconds later, Severus fell to the ground beside him, furious.  
  
"I was hit as well. Let's go back," he muttered, dusting himself off. _Damn SEALS, _he mentally swore, the both of them Apparating.  
  
  
  
"We were so close!!!" Harry complained once they had gotten back to the castle. They stalked up to the entrance, furious. "We almost had them!"  
  
Draco walked out of the solid oak double doors, still filthy. "You owe me a shower, Potter," he grumbled, grabbing Harry's hand and pulling him back inside and towards the Slytherin Dorms.  
  
"Uncle Sev, tell Cdr. George that his team sucks royally for me, would ya?" Harry threw over his shoulder as Draco dragged him into the dungeons. They Apparated straight to their room, while Draco pulled his soul mate's clothes off as fast as possible.  
  
"It has been way too long," he muttered, finally banishing the clothing in his impatience.  
  
"It's been three days. Relax," Harry soothed, sliding the muddy tee shirt from Draco's tense shoulders and walking him to the bathroom. "I'm here now, so let's make the most of it. Since tomorrow's Sunday, and everyone comes back, and then classes start back up Monday, do you have the energy to go to the Mansion or do we stay here?"  
  
"Mmm, stay here. I'm exhausted." They climbed into the steaming shower, their arms wrapped around each other in comfort.  
  
"Too tired to...." Harry trailed off, teasing. The arm around his tightened and Draco's hands traveled progressively lowered. Harry's smirk turned into a gasp and his eyes widened.  
  
"Never too tired for this," Draco growled, pinning Harry against the wall, kissing him deeply. Harry softly moaned, kissing him back with fervor.  
  
"Oh God, Draco, don't stop," Harry whispered, running his hands through his soul mate's hair as Draco kissed and teased lower, sucking on Harry's collarbone. Harry groaned and lifted his chin, sliding his tongue into Draco's mouth  
  
"Remember that dream?" Draco asked huskily, resting his forehead against Harry's.  
  
"Hmmm. Remind me again?" Harry asked softly, his eyes slightly hazy with desire. Draco grinned as he proceeded to do just that. They didn't emerge from the bathroom until it was time for dinner.  
  
  
  
At dinner, Harry and Draco sat next to Ginny and Remus, eating quietly. "So, Professor," Harry began.  
  
"Harry, I've asked you to call me Remus."  
  
"Remus, sorry. Old habits are hard to break. I was wondering, which potion did you wind up taking?"  
  
Remus choked on his dinner roll, and Severus had to pound his back, dislodging to food.  
  
"I'm sorry," Harry apologized, staring at the werewolf anxiously. "Did I say something wrong?"  
  
"No, no," Remus waved away his concerns, taking a swig of Pumpkin juice. "It just surprised me, that's all. In truth, I haven't been able to decide. Either is a life changer, for better or worse."  
  
"Right, and that's why I gave you the choice. I know how painful the transformations are, the way you are currently, and I didn't want to appear presumptuous as to which one you'd pick, but I also wanted to help." Harry glumly took a bite. He had only wanted to give Remus, who was like an older brother/uncle, a way to no longer have to go through excruciating pain each month and spend the rest of the time hated and feared.  
  
_ He does appreciate it,_ Harry, Draco said conversationally. _He just is completely indecisive as to which one to choose. It was a huge shock for him to actually have a solution to something he had resigned himself to accept.  
_  
Slightly mollified, Harry returned to eating with gusto.  
  
Ginny grinned slightly, thinking about the day's events. _They are gonna get their asses kicked,_ she thought mischievously, running through the battle simulations she had ran for four hours, finally getting them perfect- and realistic.  
  
  
  
The next morning, January third, the rest of the school arrived at ten, chattering and laughing. The students who had remained stared at them in amusement as laughter and noise once again made the walls shake slightly. _They're back... _Harry thought in a sing song wryly while sitting comfortably in the Slytherin common room, ducking as a stray curse was shot in his direction.  
  
_ Uh oh- what the hell is going on???_ Draco thought angrily, striding into the Common Room and, wading though the entirety of the younger years, separated two second years flinging barely legal curses at one another. "WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING???" he snarled, drawing everyone's attention.  
  
"He- he – HE CALLED ME A BLOODY DEATH EATER!!!!" the first one snapped.  
  
Draco's eyes widened fractionally. "What the hell are you trying to pull???" he snapped at the second one.  
  
"His MUM has the mark, his DAD has the mark, and my damn uncle just told my father that his BROTHER and SISTER have the Mark!!! He's a DEATH EATER!!!!" the second boy screamed at the top of his lungs.  
  
"My parents have the Mark, does that make ME a Death Eater??" Draco hissed angrily.  
  
"Yeah, but your dad PUNCHED the Dark Lord!" the second said, very impressed.  
  
"I was soul bound to Potter before my father had a change of heart and mind," Draco hissed, "and I still wasn't a Death Eater. I chose torture rather than be bound to that lunatic from Hell! Apologize NOW!!!"  
  
The first one sneered. "That's all right, Draco. I don't need a half assed apology he doesn't even mean." Angrily he shoved his sleeve up. It was bare. "See! No mark!" he hissed. Harry Apparated immediately into the middle of the angry group of preteens.  
  
He grabbed the first one, walking him out of the throng and sitting him down. "It's all right," he said quietly. "No one is going to hurt you for this."  
  
"You don't know that," he muttered barely above a whisper.  
  
"Yes I do, because I won't let them. They're nuts if they think they can take me and Draco on and win."  
  
The second year scowled. "I can take care of myself, you know. I'm not helpless."  
  
Harry sighed. "What's your name?"  
  
"Darryl Parkinson, Pansy's brother."  
  
"Oh. Well, Darryl, it may seem I'm only saying things to try to make you feel better, but do you have any idea of what my home life was like?"  
  
"According to the Dark Lord, you were fed from a silver spoon. Then he came back and started talking about rape and torture and did they really treat you like that? How did he know and why did you to work together? And how did he know???" The boy babbled, his burning curiosity getting the better of him.  
  
Harry laughed and he and Draco spent the next hour telling the story of what had happened over break. By the time they were done, they had attracted everyone in the Dorms. The entirety of the Slytherin House was sitting on the floor, in chairs, and in Emily, Crabbe, Goyle, Ginny, Eric, Seamus and Blaise's case in midair. They didn't leave out any details, much to Severus's dismay.  
  
"Harry, I don't think telling the First Years how to properly torture someone is a good idea," Severus warned, seeing visions of the Ickle Firsties practicing on each other and their fellow houses. _Oh that would be bad,_ he thought with a sigh. _I can just picture them deliberately hunting down students and dragging them into deserted classrooms for more 'instruction'. Why couldn't my house be normal, sex crazed little bastards? No, instead they're** bloodthirsty**, sex crazed little bastards!_ he mused, watching Blaise and Seamus, who had all but moved down into the Slytherin Dorms himself, make out with gusto, oblivious to the younger years watching with interest, two of them taking notes and comparing.  
  
"You should have used a duller knife," one of the second years piped up, drawing his attention back to the conversation.  
  
"Why?" Draco asked curiously.  
  
"Because you would have to saw at it, making it hurt more," the second year answered proudly. "At least that's what my Mum says when she yells at my Dad."  
  
Harry started laughing. "Uncle Sev, we didn't say anything they didn't already know!" he gasped out, holding his sides.  
  
"That's what I was afraid of," the Potions Master muttered dourly. He turned and stared at the assembled Slytherins. "You are NOT to practice torture methods on each other. Is that understood?" They collectively groaned.  
  
"But, sir, what if we caught a Gryffindor and kept him or her down here? We could practice on him," An unknown fourth year asked with a smirk.  
  
"No!" Severus snapped.  
  
"How about a Hufflepuff? They're useless anyway," another one asked with an evil grin.  
  
Harry snorted with laughter. Severus glared at him. "You're not helping, Mr. Potter. They do look up to you."  
  
"S-ss-sorry, Professor Snape, but they're so funny!" Harry hissed in between spurts of laughter.  
  
Draco smirked. "If they can get a Hufflepuff down into the dungeons willingly, then that one deserves to be taken out of the gene pool."  
  
"Hey!" Harry yelled, his eyes dancing with merriment. "That's not nice, Draco! If you could persuade the little gullible dears that you really just wanted to give them a tour of the Dungeons and show them all the neat secret passage ways, then you shouldn't take advantage of that!" he snickered.  
  
Severus groaned as Millicent, Blaise and Eric started plotting about capturing their first Hufflepuff and what they'd do to the unsuspecting person. Emily just grinned from her place on Eric's lap and Seamus, with a giddy Blaise on his lap, just rolled his eyes.  
  
_Oh yeah,_ Harry thought in amusement, opening the Quidditch link. _Practice tonight and tomorrow after classes. We have a game on Saturday.  
  
All right,_ came the replies from all over the castle. Harry grinned as everyone trooped from the Dorms, ready for lunch.  
  
That afternoon, they held their practice, reacquainting Blaise and Seamus with first string. Blaise and Seamus, now that they were bonded, were as good, if not better than their predecessors Damien and Nicholai. They slammed the Bludgers back and forth, effectively keeping the two wildly careening balls away from the rest of the team for the entire practice, which was almost four hours.  
  
After practice, Cdr. George pulled Harry, Draco, James, Severus, Alanna and Xander into the Forbidden Forest for night drills. With the SEAL team as their guide, drill instructor and challenger, they tracked, ran, and learned to avoid detection while not tripping and falling on their faces until almost two in the morning.  
  
Draco and Harry, exhausted, flopped onto Draco's bed and cast the accelerated sleep on each other. They both glowed softly for the entire night, neither of them dreaming at all.  
  
  
  
A/N: All right, yet another chapter. I dunno, that one seemed a bit boring to me as well, though I promise that in less than two or three chapters it'll pick up again. And yes I threw in the sex to liven things up a bit. Nothing like writing slash at three in the morning!!! Oh, guess what? I PASSED MY EMT EXAMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHOOOOOHOOOOO !!!!!!!!!!! YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY!!!!! Anyway, someone asked for a teaser from the other story I'm working on. Here it is, enjoy.  
  
  
  
The Lesser of Two Evils  
  
A crisp Autumn day, 1997- Harry's sixth year  
  
Draco walked alone, having ditched his goons somewhere around the Great Hall. Presumably they were currently stuffing their faces- their favorite pastime. He made his way out the Entrance Hall and onto the grounds, enjoying what could very well be the last warm day before the winter snows dumped on them. He calmly strode, the Slytherin Prince, over to the lake to sit at his favorite spot under an ancient weeping willow right on the lakefront.  
  
_ I take my Mark at the beginning of Winter Holiday, _he thought ruefully. _I heard it's incredibly painful._ He stared at his unblemished forearm thoughtfully, imagining the rather unattractive burn that would be etched there in just a few months. _I don't know if this is what I really want, but Dumbledore's just as bad, if not worse. I wish I could talk to Uncle Sev about this, but no one must know._ His feet led him to his spot and he sat down gracefully against the smooth trunk, when...  
  
"What the- Potter?? What are you doing here?" he snapped, unwittingly sitting next to his rival and archenemy.  
  
Harry shrugged, a goofy expression on his face. "Make yourself at home, Malfoy. Pull up a bit of grass." He went back to slowly inhaling on an odd smelling cigarette.  
  
Draco leaned forward, sniffing. "Potter, is that- WEED???" he yelped, staring at Harry as if he had grown an extra head.  
  
"Yup, finest Wizarding Weed in the British Isles. Want some?" Harry asked dreamily, floating about three inches off the ground.  
  
"Erm, no, that's all right," Draco answered, confused. _Why is the Savior of the Wizarding World getting stoned off his ass?_ "I guess I can really call you Pothead and it'll be the truth."  
  
"Yup, oh well. Suit yourself. This is really good shit." Harry went back to toking up with a sad smile.  
  
Draco stared at him for a minute, before sighing. "As your archrival at school and the person who found you, I guess it's my civic duty to ask you what's wrong. So, why are you using pot?"  
  
Harry sniffed, a deep pain surfacing in his eyes. "Do you really want to know or are you just asking in the hope that I'll get mad and stomp off?" He turned to Draco, an unexpected hope lighting his eyes.  
  
Draco stared at him, an unreadable expression on his face. The hope in Harry's eyes dimmed and died. He turned back around. "Figures. I guess I'll just get mad and stomp off, then. See ya around, Ferret." He made to stand up, bracing his hand against the tree trunk behind him.  
  
_What- oh well, might as well. Aunt Grace would have my head if she knew that I had the chance to talk to him and didn't. Besides, he looks like he needs someone to talk to- I did NOT just think that!_ "Wait, Potter. Sit down and talk. I promise, I won't tell Father about anything you say."  
  
Harry sat back down with a thump. "Actually, I would prefer if you told him. Voldemort too." He fumbled in his pocket. "It's in here somewhere." He pulled out an envelope with the name 'Voldemort' written on the back. "Give this to him, would you? I know you're going to see him at Winter Holidays and all."  
  
Draco took the envelope incredulously. "What the- Why are you sending Voldemort mail????"  
  
"It isn't mail, you dork," Harry slurred slightly, turning in circles in midair. "It's a map. I drew it myself," he claimed proudly.  
  
Draco opened it and stared at it. "What's at Number Four, Privet Drive?" he asked curiously.  
  
"Duh, that's where I live! Tell him he has an invitation to come once school ends. Oh, and before he kills me, I want to watch him torture and kill the assholes I live with. After that, he can kill me all he wants. Just no torture. Probably, by the time he gets there it'll be redundant, anyway."  
  
Draco started laughing, falling over and clutching his sides. "Oh- hahahahaha- shit! That's funny! He'll get a kick out of that. Ok, fine, I'll give him this. For a second you really had me going, I actually believed this was a map to your house! HAHAHAHAHA!"  
  
Harry stared at him, all traces of the smiling, dreamy expression gone. "I'm serious, Malfoy. I want to die, and I want my family," he spat the last word as if it were obscene, "to die as well. There is nothing for me here but pain and I want it to END!" His fists clenched at his sides and a lone tear fell down his face. Taking a shuddering, gasping breath, he managed to compose himself. "So, if you would please give that to him, I would be very grateful." He stood up, dusting himself off. "Well, that ruined my high," he said soberly before walking off.  
  
Draco stood up and ran after him and grabbed his arm, dragging him bodily in the direction of the Forbidden Forest. Once they were about thirty feet into the Forest, he let go of Harry's arm. "Now, you are going to talk and you are going to tell me why you feel like dying is your only option!"  
  
Harry cocked an eyebrow. "Dying isn't my only option, it's the most favorable one," he stated simply.  
  
Draco gaped at him. "Why? You have everything! You have fame and you're one of the best and most powerful people on the planet! You could have anything! Why are you throwing that away?"  
  
"Can you give me my parents?" Harry asked looking him straight in the eye. "Can you give me Sirius back? Can you give me fifteen years where I wasn't beaten or starved or r- or treated like shit by people who were supposed to protect me?" he yelled angrily, tears falling down his face.  
  
Draco just stared at him, his mouth hanging open. "I- I-"  
  
"Don't you DARE tell me I have everything because I have NOTHING! I have no one! All I have are two friends who have lives as fucked up as mine and an entire world that depends on me! E- fucking - nough! I can't do this anymore. So, if you would please see to it that he gets the map, I would appreciate it. Besides, why do you care? You hate me. You want me dead. I'm giving myself to him on a silver platter. I thought you'd be jumping for joy, not questioning my motives."  
  
Draco cocked an eyebrow, trying to regain a sense of decorum. Malfoys never gape, even when told something that completely flies in the face of everything you were taught to believe. _Uncle Sev will be pissed, same as Aunt Grace. Oh, they will be furious to hear this. They thought Dumbledore would take care of his Savior, not abuse him._ "I don't think you understand me, Potter. I may dislike you, but no one deserves to be treated horribly by the people that are supposed to be protecting them. That is awful and unheard of in the Wizarding world. Now, wait a minute- Weasel and Granger have it bad too???"  
  
Harry shrugged. "No one can help me, since Dumbledore has such control over where I go, plus, I just want to end everything. Get them out of their homes, all right? Please? It's bad. Besides, Hermione isn't a Mudblood like everyone thinks. She's actually from a long line of Pureblood Squibs. I think the last time anyone in her family was magic was six or seven generations ago. Wait- she had a Great Grandmother on her Mum's side that was a pretty decent witch. But, yeah, her parents hate her and all. They yell at her and belittle her constantly, telling her they should have aborted her or abandoned her. Why do you think she always does well in school? She just wants them to care. I keep telling her it won't happen but she doesn't believe me. And Ron- well, let's just say the Twins aren't the best siblings to have. They can be really fucked up. I can't say any more on that because I promised never to tell what I saw and he'd just deny it, but I can't help them anymore, so please get them somewhere safe."  
  
Harry stood up and walked off. Draco pulled him back. "What do you want, Malfoy? Why can't you let me go? It's what I want!"  
  
Draco stared at him. "Potter, why doesn't Dumbledore do anything? You're his Golden Boy!"  
  
Harry snarled at him. "Don't EVER call me that again. I HATE that name. And Dumbledore doesn't do anything because he's behind all this. He could have saved Siri, he could have sent me somewhere else, he could have gotten me out of there. He knows- I sent him letters all summer and he came to my house once. I heard him tell my Aunt she was doing a good job, but not to hurt me too badly. He wanted me submissive when I got back here. I told Ron and Hermione that and they're researching how to get me out of there, but we've had no luck. I doubt you can do better."  
  
Draco snarled, wracking his brain for an answer. _No one deserves this and they will all be furious. _"I can guarantee that Voldemort, once he hears of this, will be furious, and will get you out of there."  
  
"Well, yeah, that's what I'm counting on," Harry responded.  
  
"No, just hang on, all right? He'll get you out of there and keep you safe. I can almost guarantee it."  
  
Harry stared at him incredulously. "What? He hates me and wants me dead! It's either die or completely break."  
  
"If you want to die so badly, just kill yourself then."  
  
"I can't. Dumbledore put this spell on me at the end of fifth year. It lets him know if I have any injuries and if they're self inflicted or not. The last time I tried," he bared his arms and showed Draco the ugly scars running up the insides. "He healed me and told my Uncle I needed to be punished more." He shuddered at the memory.  
  
Draco's face tightened with anger. "I'll see what I can do. Oh, I'll need addresses for Weaseley and Granger."  
  
"They're on the map. I included the addresses on the other side. Why are you helping us, Malfoy?"  
  
Draco shrugged and walked off quietly telling him over his shoulder, "Because no one deserves to be treated this way. It's criminal."  
  
Harry watched him walk off with a renewed hope in his eyes.  
  
The First week of Summer between Sixth and Seventh Year, 1998, Riddle Manor  
  
"Yes, My Lord," came the drawling reply. Severus Snape stood before Voldemort proudly, his masked face displaying none of the anxiety he felt.  
  
"My Death Eaters are dismissed, you may all go," came the thundering voice.  
  
Severus nodded and strode from Riddle Mansion, sighing silently. _I will have much to report to Dumbledore. I learned who three more of Voldemort's followers are, as well as the plans for several key attacks over the summer.  
_  
Back inside, masks and hoods were removed with a sigh. Voldemort stood up with a wry grin. "Now that the spy is gone, we can get down to business. Potter has given me a map to his house, as well as the addresses of his two friends. Young Master Malfoy here has informed me that the two of them are waiting for us to make our moves, as they do not trust us at all. Any suggestions?"  
  
  
  
Ain't I mean????? Such a teaser. Anyway, I'm gonna complete this one before posting it. Forty four pages and going strong. I'm about half way done. I feel terrible, though. I've managed to justify Voldemort's genocide of Muggles in this story. And it will be genocide. But, there's a good reason. So, what do you think? I think it's interesting- oh, and I'm currently intrigued by the whole Harry being related somehow to Voldie, son, grandson, nephew. It's an interesting concept as I don't like Dumbledore and think he's a manipulating freak of nature... the thought of Bumblefuck pitting the two against each other and their actual relationship is father and son is something I think the bastard could do quite easily... Anyway, tell me what you think and I'll be ever so happy.  
  
B/N: Wow, she can be a right bitch when she wants to be! Such a tease! Tsk, tsk, you will make the readers angry!....... Oh well, on with the story! Stay tuned for the next exciting blah blah blah blah blah blah blah! Did anybody catch that? No? TOO BAD! Bye-bye!


	30. Chapter 30

A/N: I'm sitting here, drinking a chocolate milkshake... made MY way (with about two shots of Kailua added to the blender as well as a shot of coffee liqueur or raspberry flavoring or both, depending on your mood) and getting a slight, faint buzz. It makes for incredibly interesting typing, to say the least. Anywho, glad you liked the last chapter and I'm actually probably going to upload what I have of The Lesser of Two Evils (in twenty page increments- THEY ARE NOT CHAPTERS!) because of the response I got. So, people, your persistence paid off! YAY. Oh, does anyone want me to continue Just Like You? It was supposed to be a one shot, but... you know me, I can't be happy unless I have three or four storylines running through my head. Anyway, this will be a bit more than thirty chapters. I think it'll wind up being ten chapters more, at the most (hopefully!) We're nearing the end, people!!!  
  
Oh, and my dad's a Navy captain to all who liked the SEALS. I work at the pools on the Navy base as a lifeguard and one of my jobs is to teach the buds guys (buds is the program for training SEALS; it's basic underwater demolition scuba training) how to swim if they can't swim. I had help writing the story. One of my friends gave me the idea. So, Chief Cassidy, thanks!!!! (He's one of the SEAL instructors)  
  
Athenakitty.... Shhhhh. You aren't supposed to know that! SHE doesn't even know that and isn't going to figure it out for a while, at least! She won't know until after the rescue!  
  
Chapter 30  
  
At five a.m., they woke, refreshed from the accelerated sleep to join Alanna and the other three on the now seven mile run. The made their way to the Quidditch pitch, where Alanna stood in the center, stretching. They joined her as Xander Apparated next to them, yawning. Severus and James were the last to arrive, both looking half asleep. Harry snickered at the sight of his dad still in his pajamas, running shoes thrown on hastily. With a murmur, James was attired in running clothes. The elder Potter blinked, his mind unable to process how his clothes had been changed. Two minutes later, Cdr. George joined them, as well as the six members of the SEAL team.  
  
After another ten minutes of stretching and waking up, they took off for the Forbidden Forest, following their newly established route of seven miles. Forty five minutes later, they were back at Hogwarts, completed thirty minutes of calisthenics, and then the four adults left to prepare for classes, leaving Harry and Draco awake and with nothing to do for the next four hours. Harry ran back to his dorms and reappeared five minutes later with Isis and the two winged Unicorns flying around him. Draco summoned his dragons, and they stared at each other.  
  
"Hmmm, I wonder what to do?" Harry asked slyly, walking back into the Forbidden forest, Draco hot on his heels and their zoo not far behind.  
  
"Harry, where are we going?" Draco asked, curious.  
  
"You'll see. It's a perfect relief for sore muscles, and some other things."  
  
_ Hmmm.  
_  
After a sedate ten minute walk, they arrived at the hot spring. Draco stopped dead in his tracks. "But, we don't have our swim trunks..." he trailed off, confused. Harry cast warming spells on their menagerie of animals and the dragons and Isis went off to hunt, and the two winged unicorns trotted into the undergrowth, grazing contentedly.  
  
Harry grinned and waited. "OH!!!" Draco yelled, getting it. He hurriedly stripped down and hopped into the steaming water. Harry quickly followed suit and they curled up together, letting the soothing water relieve the sore and aching muscles. They soaked for a half hour, talking and resting, before both of them got a little restless with the warm water and naked closeness.  
  
Talking turned to kissing and kissing turned into full fledged making out. Harry moaned loudly as Draco's hands fisted in his hair, trailing kisses down his neck and latching onto a pebbly nipple. Ginny Apparated into the clearing at that moment, ready to enjoy a dip before her morning class. She took one look at the two in the water and Apparated away, slightly scarred from seeing her brothers sliding against each other, obviously enjoying the hot spring. I'm NEVER using that spring again, she vowed, knowing EXACTLY what was in that water.  
  
Back at the spring, Harry lifted his head. "Hey, is someone there?" he asked, confused and sure he had heard something. Seeing no one, he went back to driving his soul mate insane. Two hours and ten different positions later, they stepped out of the water, shivering slightly from the frigid air. They instantly dried and called for their pets telepathically who all flocked to them, ready to go back to the castle.  
  
They walked back through the frozen undergrowth and made their way back to the castle, their arms wrapped around each other as they enjoyed the walk and trekking through the snow. On a whim, Harry lay down on a snow drift and made a snow angel. Draco just stared at him as if he'd lost his mind.  
  
"What?" Harry asked, his eyes shining. "I love making snow angels!" He stood up, careful not to destroy it and walked over to Draco. "You make one."  
  
"No!" Draco protested certain that Harry had gone insane. "I am not getting snow in my hair!"  
  
"Fine. Be that way," Harry pouted, walking off.  
  
Draco rolled his eyes but, when Harry was out of eyesight, he flopped down into the snow, making not just one but seven snow angels.  
  
He caught up to a grinning Harry and shrugged. "What?"  
  
"I felt that." Harry smirked.  
  
"Shit." Draco blushed furiously.  
  
"It was cute!" Harry snickered.  
  
"Shit."  
  
.  
  
The rest of the day flew by, Harry and Draco quickly getting back into the school mindset. In Experimental Potions, Draco and Harry brought the second Potions book by Salazar Slytherin and spent the hour and a half brewing different potions from the book.  
  
After class, Severus confiscated the book, claiming that he needed to look through it for research purposes. Harry just grinned and handed it over.  
  
Once again after class, they held a Quidditch practice, with Cdr. George training them at night. They used the accelerated sleep again, too tired to wonder about possible repercussions of using it too often. Once again they were up at five a.m., running, working out, and training for war.  
  
The next day went as quickly as the previous. Alanna, with Harry's suggestions started teaching some of the arcane forms of Martial Arts to the Wandless and Elemental class, turning the Room of Requirement into a dojo, and introduced various weapons that the students could pick and keep the very first lesson. Harry hefted his twin crescent blades, twirling them around and getting a feel for them before conjuring a full sized punching bag and slicing it to ribbons.  
  
Draco, having already had fencing lessons, grabbed a scimitar, slashing it expertly. He and Harry faced off jokingly, circling each other and feinting, trying to draw the other into attacking. The other students hastily got out of the way, wary of the flashing blades and eager to receive their own weapons.  
  
"You know, Potter, you're outmatched. Give up now," Draco mock growled, slashing downward, trying to take off his soul mate's head at the shoulder.  
  
"Hey, I beat you the last time we did this. First blood, remember?" Harry countered, parrying with both blades upturned, before spinning and lashing out with his foot.  
  
Draco sidestepped, retracting his enormous crescent shaped sword and parrying the double attack Harry dealt him. "You tripped the last time, which was the only way you hit me, if I'm not mistaken," Draco smirked, cursing as he tried to parry the double slash yet again. "Damn it Harry, quit swinging at me!"  
  
"That's enough!" Alanna yelled, dropping the assorted staves, bows, daggers, and other weapons and separating the two demigods. "When will you two stop horsing around and take this seriously?" she snapped, exasperated.  
  
Harry rolled his eyes behind her back. _Someone's in a right state,_ he muttered mentally, shaking his head.  
  
Draco stared at her with a calculating look._ She's been off for almost a week now, over reacting and crying and laughing, all at really weird times. Do you think she's snapped? Has the pressure gotten to her?  
_  
Harry cringed, imagining a homicidal, psychotic Alanna on a killing rampage. _I sure as hell hope not. She's scary enough sane. Insane, I'm more scared of her than Clautius.  
_  
_Thanks for the vote of confidence,_ Alanna said dourly, breaking into their thoughts. _I really appreciate you wondering about my mental stability.  
  
You're the one crying at the drop of a hat one minute and laughing insanely the next, interspersed with an incredibly short temper,_ Harry shot back, his patience wearing thin.  
  
_ Well excuse me for having an off week!!!_ She snapped back. _If I didn't love you two so much, I'd kick you outta class for that remark!  
_  
Harry blushed and ducked his head. _I'm sorry you're feeling off, but we were worried. Both of us know people who are mentally off, and uncontrollable mood swings is the first sign you're losing it.  
  
Thank you for that free psychoanalysis, Dr. Freud, _she snapped irritably. _Now, I want you out of my class!  
_  
Draco pouted. _You don't love us any more?_ he asked playfully.  
  
_ Draco,_ Harry warned, dragging him from the classroom. _She loves us so much she's giving us a chance to escape before she kills us!  
  
I HEARD THAT!!!_ She yelled from inside the Room of Requirement. Harry ran, dragging Draco behind him.  
  
  
  
The rest of the week passed by quickly as essays, class work and after school study groups fit into the schedule along with Quidditch practice and training for the rescue. Saturday, everyone woke early for the match against Durmstrung, knowing it was their only competition in the tournament.  
  
The whole team trooped into the Entrance Hall and, at Madam Hooch's signal, Apparated straight into Durmstrung, a feat that had never been performed before in the history of the school. Alarms sounded, teachers rushed in, covered in magical armor, and students lined the hallways, wands at the ready.  
  
Harry cocked an eyebrow. "We come in peace," he said slowly and clearly. "We come to play Quidditch. No attack."  
  
Draco snickered, his icy mask completely destroyed. "Potter, what are you on?" he wondered aloud.  
  
_ Hopefully, you, by the end of the day,_ Harry shot back, enjoying seeing his soul mate choke.  
  
_Would you leave the foreplay at home?_ Ginny wondered, causing the rest of the team to break out into giggles, completely confusing the Durmstrung students and teachers.  
  
_Where's the fun in that? _Draco wondered. The team only laughed harder, to everyone's confusion.  
  
"Vhat is so funny?" the headmaster of the school asked, walking down the steps. "And, hov, may I ask, did you Apparate into our school grounds?"  
  
"We just did it," Harry explained. "It just happened. And, what's so funny is that we came here to play Quidditch and everyone looked like they would attack us. It was surreal."  
  
"Oh." The headmaster of Durmstrung seemed to accept the answer. He let out a brief command in Russian, and everyone stood down, wands at their sides. The Quidditch team trooped out, heads held high and they filed down to the Pitch, the Hogwarts team following them with a bit of suspicion.  
  
_Draco, what is going on here?_ Harry thought, looking around as they were marched to the Quidditch pitch. A small, one story building stood on the edge of the field, and there were no stands or even an announcer's booth.  
  
_I dunno, Harry. This sucks! No wonder they didn't bring anyone to cheer; they don't even have stands!  
_  
_ Well, you all know the drill. They're going to cheat, so give as good as you get. Don't start illegal moves until they do, and have fun._ Harry finished his spiel, grinning. They stood on the ground, waiting for the game to start. Madam Hooch conjured a nice fluffy arm chair and sat down on the sidelines, waving a Hogwart's pennant.  
  
The students from Hogwarts arrived, Apparated in by Alanna and Xander, who looked around and, seeing the lack of suitable seats, happily conjured two enormous bleachers, one on each side of the field. The entirety of Hogwarts trooped into the stands, carrying posters and pennants, ready to cheer on their team.  
  
The disgruntled headmaster of Durmstrung spat something at one of the teachers and the teacher ran off, returning thirty seconds later with half the student body, who trooped into the stands silently, holding hastily made pennants and posters supporting the Durmstrung players.  
  
Harry snickered quietly. "I wonder what they threatened them with to get them out here."  
  
"Service to the Dark Lord?" Ginny wondered. "No, that'll be their reward for cheering..."  
  
"Don't even joke about it," Draco growled. "I recognize half of them as Death Eaters, because my father hosted the last Revel. They were all at my house, torturing the hell out of the Muggles captured and held for entertainment purposes."  
  
"Oh." Ginny looked abashed.  
  
"All right, people, could we get started?" Harry asked wearily. "I want to get this over with."  
  
They mounted their brooms, flying to the field. The official Referee was already in place, holding the struggling Snitch in one hand, and the Bludgers in the other. The Quaffle sat in his lap. He sat there, bored, waiting for the two teams to make their way to the Pitch.  
  
Finally, they swooped in, taking their places. "All set?" the bored Referee asked. The two teams nodded. "Captains, shake hands." Draco and Harry shook the Durmstrung captain's hand quickly and they took their places. With enthusiastic applause from the Hogwarts fans, the Snitch and Bludgers were released in rapid succession. The Referee tossed up the Quaffle, and the game was on. He quickly ducked out of the way as the two teams shot into motion, remembering what had happened last time. Harry, Draco and Ginny zipped through the air, their coordination and flying even better than before now that they were soul bound and blood bound.  
  
_WOW,_ Draco thought, his body unconsciously using Harry's memories and skills to mirror his soul mate in flight, the both of them dodging and weaving their way to the Durmstrung goals. The Beaters slammed a Bludger at Ginny, who was carrying the Quaffle, and she dodged to avoid it, throwing the Quaffle for all she was worth at the left goal. The Keeper blocked it with ease, sending the ball out to his Chasers.  
  
_ They've gotten better,_ Ginny thought worriedly. _MUCH better!  
  
So have we,_ Draco reminded her as he stole the Quaffle yet again, slanting upwards before diving in a corkscrew to pass to Harry who easily put it in the goal for the first ten points scored.  
  
Ten minutes later, Blaise and Seamus had disabled two Chasers and took shots at the Keeper for Durmstrung, trying to knock the sallow, burly youth from his broom. Professor Snape and Lily, now four months pregnant, watched from the sidelines, actively cheering for his Slytherins. "GO ON!!!" he screamed furiously from his seat. "KNOCK HIM ON HIS ARSE!!!!!!!" Alanna and Xander quickly took up the chant, screaming for the Hogwarts players to use every trick they knew to win.  
  
_ Did Professor Snape just give us permission to cheat?_ Blaise asked. Seamus grinned and saluted the Potions Professor, eager, for once, to follow the Potion Master's orders. They renewed their attack on the Durmstrung Keeper, pelting him with the Bludgers. The Referee just yawned and checked his watch.  
  
From her position in goal, Emily groaned as the Durmstrung Chasers yet again pelted down the field, intent on getting past her. "Bloody hell you aren't," she muttered, as she knocked the reserve chaser from his broom and, swinging sideways from her broom caught the Quaffle. She handed off to Harry while upside down, pulling herself upright only after he had cleared the congestion from the goals. "Bloody bastards." Thirty seconds later, they were back again, and she stopped them once more, handing off to Ginny. _Keep them up there, would ya?_ she begged.  
  
_Aww, you getting tired?_ Ginny teased, shooting towards the Durmstrung goal only for the Quaffle to be caught yet again and brought back down the field. Draco intercepted it and scored quickly, bringing the score to thirty - ten, Hogwarts. The game grew progressively rougher as Durmstrung, once they realized that they couldn't beat Hogwart's skill, decided to take out as many players as possible.  
  
Emily took a Bludger to the head, and Harry caught her as she fell to the ground, unconscious. Madam Pomfrey held her as he quickly healed her head injury, but she didn't wake up right away. Play was halted as Ron zoomed onto the field, taking her place in goal. He held on valiantly, saving far more than he let through, but it wasn't enough. Durmstrung caught up to Hogwarts and the score was tied, fifty to fifty in less than ten minutes.  
  
Grimly, Harry, Draco and Ginny dominated the Quaffle, scoring twelve times in the next ten minutes. They refused to let the Quaffle past the midline, keeping Durmstrung on the defensive for almost half an hour, scoring over and over and over again. The Durmstrung Beaters slammed the Bludger at Ginny, knocking her from her broom and breaking three of her ribs. Draco caught her and surreptitiously healed her, running his hands over her side. She grinned her thanks to him and grabbed the Quaffle, viciously slamming it through the far right hoop.  
  
Thirty minutes later, James still had not caught the Snitch. He battled fiercely with the Durmstrung Seeker, going head to head trying to catch the damnable tiny ball._ Dad, the score is 340 to 120. Wait, we just scored another one; 350 to 120. You don't have to catch the Snitch- we're still going to win. Don't kill yourself over the stupid thing, _Harry thought wryly.  
  
James only pressed harder, shooting past the other Seeker and pulling alongside the flitting golden ball. He quickly snagged a wing, ending the game 500 to 120. The Durmstrung Captain grabbed a Beater's bat and swung it hard, hitting a nearby Bludger right into Harry's surprised face. Harry didn't even have time to throw up a hand or shield as the ball smashed into him, and he knew no more.  
  
  
  
Harry slowly awoke, his head throbbing. "What happened?" he asked slowly, opening his eyes. He stared at the white walls of Hogwart's Infirmary. A low groan answered his question. Cautiously, he sat up, his head spinning slightly. He looked over and gaped. Draco lay in the bed next to him, his left eye bruised as well as his right cheekbone, his lip bloody, and his Quidditch robes torn and filthy.  
  
"What the hell happened to you?" Harry muttered, running a hand through his hair. He winced and saw stars. "What the hell happened to me?"  
  
Madame Pomfrey bustled in, followed by Lily, James Alanna, Xander, Severus and Remus. "Hey, Harry, how're you feeling?" James asked quietly, his damp hair soaking the collar of his robes.  
  
"What happened?" Harry asked, confused. "Why does my head hurt and why does Draco look like shit?"  
  
"Harry! Language!" Madam Pomfrey snapped.  
  
"What do you remember?" Lily asked, concerned.  
  
"I remember winning, but after that it's blank." Harry grimaced, holding his head.  
  
"The Durmstrang captain slammed you in the face with a Bludger, and then Draco jumped him," Severus said with pride. "He took on the entire Quidditch team and won, no magic needed!"  
  
Draco groaned and opened his eyes. "Hey, Harry," he said quietly, grinning painfully at his soul mate. "How're you feeling?"  
  
"Well, my head feels about the same your face must feel. Heal each other?" Harry asked, his hand glowing.  
  
"Sure, why not. But, I'm proud of my injuries. I won," he said quietly.  
  
"I heard. Good for you." Harry's hand glowed, as did Draco's and they healed each other with little fanfare.  
  
"How long have I been out?" Harry asked a minute later.  
  
"Only about a half an hour. He hit you really hard." Draco gently caressed the side of Harry's face. "How do you feel now?"  
  
"Much better. The little flashy lights that appeared in front of my eyes whenever I moved are gone," Harry answered honestly.  
  
"Good. Do you want to get up?" Draco asked lightly, rolling off his bed and standing up. He extended his hand and Harry took it gratefully, pulling himself to his feet. They walked out the door, pushing past the six people who had crowded into the Hospital Wing to make sure Harry was all right, and continued walking.  
  
"Wait!! I need you here for observation!!!" Madam Pomfrey yelled after them. They only walked faster.  
  
Lily, James, Severus, Remus, Alanna and Xander followed them quickly as they walked down the hallway, Apparating in mid step to the Chamber of Secrets. There, the party was in full swing, with everyone lounging about, playing pool, and listening to really loud music.  
  
"We're CHAMPIONS!!!!" Emily shrieked, swinging Draco around and hugging him. "Well, of our division," she amended. "But, STILL!!" Draco laughed, hugging her in return.  
  
"That we are. Oh wow, this is incredible!!!" he yelled giddily. "One more game and Rome doesn't even care about playing!"  
  
Eric, Seamus, Blaise, Goyle and Ginny were drinking something that looked potent, and they poured Harry and Draco glasses. Lily grabbed the glass, sniffing it. "Did you have to drink Suicides?" she asked wearily, massaging her temples. Neville simply raised his glass over by the Pool tables, where he and Luna were challenging one another. Dudley, Susan Bones, Hannah Abbot and Vincent Crabbe were playing pool at the other table in teams.  
  
"It's either that or Long Island Iced Tea," Eric offered her a little unsteadily, holding out his own drink. Severus snickered and poured himself a drink happily, mixing one for Remus as well.  
  
"Here you go, Wolf boy," he said with a snicker. "I think this tasted a hell of a lot better than the Wolfsbane Potion I force down your throat every month."  
  
"Oh, that's wonderful. You know, Severus, you should quit working here and simply mix drinks for a living," Remus teased. "You would make an assload of money."  
  
Severus glared at him. "I don't NEED the money, unlike you- wait, that's right. You've joined the ranks of the Idle Rich now, haven't you?" He downed his drink in three long gulps. "Damn good stuff. Who transfigured the booze?" he asked the students.  
  
"No one!" Emily chirped. "Someone put an everfilling charm on the bottles last time so they were full again! We just took what we wanted!" Severus just laughed and poured himself another drink.  
  
Lily pouted. "No fair!!!" she pretended to cry. "I can't cuz Baby won't like it!!"  
  
James poured her a small glass of wine. "Here, Love, stick to one glass of this. It won't hurt."  
  
Alanna and Xander Apparated in, followed by Ron, Hermione, and several others who quickly poured themselves drinks and joined the party. They didn't leave until the early hours of the morning.  
  
  
  
The next morning, after many sobriety potions and then their run, Cdr. George pulled all of them into the Forbidden Forest again, an evil smirk on his face. "We've been working on this for almost three weeks now and it'll help you when you go into Clautius's realm," he announced as le led them to a cleared tract of land. A shimmery portal stood in front of them, and, in the distance to the left, Harry could see what looked to be a castle.  
  
"Oh my- It's the Portal world!" Alanna exclaimed, staring around her is slight awe. "You are a genius!"  
  
Ginny poked her head out of the shimmery portal. "Thank you."  
  
"What??" Draco gasped, astounded. "Where does that go?"  
  
"I'm currently in the Chamber of Secrets," Ginny said with a smirk.  
  
"Sweet," Harry said with a smirk. "So, how does this work?"  
  
Ginny stepped through fully, grinning. "All right, people. This is how it works. You start at the portal, and the goal is to get to the other portal in as little time as possible. There will be guards and roving demons all over the place. The point is to not be detected. If you kill them, it'll get you more points. Anyway, you have to get to the correct portal and go through. From there, your team will split up to find your targets. James, you, Alanna and Xander will find Remus. Severus, Draco and Harry will find Lily. Cdr. George will be monitoring your progress. Everyone understand?"  
  
"Is this the real terrain that we'll be facing?" Harry asked quietly.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"All right, then, let's go then. How much time do we have?" Severus asked, doing the necessary mental calculations.  
  
"As long as it takes. Just remember that every minute you take is a minute that the ones you love could be being hurt," Cdr. George warned.  
  
Severus and James paled considerably. "Well, what are we waiting for??" James snapped, sounding suspiciously like Severus. "Let's go!!!" They stood next to the portal, waiting to begin.  
  
"Now, the demons are as up to par with strength and abilities as you will face. You should be able to take them on." Cdr. George mentally ticked off the points he had to cover before sending them out. "The portals are ten miles due east from here, in which you'll split up, taking your respective portals. They actually dump you somewhere in the Forbidden Forest, where you'll continue, rescue your hostage, and get back here. Oh, and no magic. You have to deal with them using hand to hand combat or your weapons," he gestured to the weapons Alanna had given them in the Martial Arts class.  
  
Severus smirked and dug a vial from his robes, smearing some on his family's swords and passing it around to the other demigods. "It's poison. Don't drink it, you fool," he snapped at James as he raised the vial to his lips. "Put it on your blade!" James rolled his eyes and smeared a liberal amount on the edges of his daggers. The rest of them quickly followed suit, tucking their weapons away into easily accessible yet not cumbersome places. They took off, jogging lightly, their minds irreversibly bound, directing each other over the rocky and foreign terrain. They used the trees as cover, ducking and trying to stay as invisible and unobtrusive as possible.  
  
They continued running lightly for almost ten minutes before they met the first Demon patrol, seven demons of mixed sizes. Harry quickly slid up a tree, his eyes narrowed. Draco slid up next to him, shimmying through the branches. Alanna, James, Xander and Severus slid into other trees around the area, waiting.  
  
They didn't have to wait long. Two of the demons, fire demons from the looks of it, slunk into the wooded area, sniffing the air. James threw two of his daggers at them and they slumped over, dead, before they knew what hit them. Three more burst up and stared at the two demons lying dead on the ground. Harry slid behind them, slitting their throats with ease.  
  
Severus and Alanna quickly tracked down the remaining two and made short work of them as well. They continued on, running towards the portals, aware only that time was running out for their hostages.  
  
Over the next hour and twenty minutes, they encountered four more bands of Demons, ranging in numbers. They either outright avoided them or dispatched them without being caught. By the time the reached the twelve portals, even Alanna and Harry were panting and gasping for breath. Alanna and Xander studied the portals quickly, reading the flowing script along the bottom and sides. Finally, they stepped back.  
  
"Harry, Draco and Sev go through this one," Alanna said quietly, pointing to the portal furthest on the left. "We need to go through this one," she said, pointing to the portal three to the right, "first, and if we don't find him we have to search the others as well."  
  
"All right, let's go," Harry said quietly and they split up, going their separate ways.  
  
Harry, Draco and Severus quickly slid through the portal, and stepped out into a different world- at least, it felt that way. The sky was an intense purple blue, and a lush rainforest stretched as far as the eye could see, which, since they stood on the crest of a mountain, was pretty far. In the distance, an enormous spot of black marred the landscape, which Severus correctly assumed was Clautius's castle.  
  
"All right, let's move," Harry hissed and they quickly slid into the undergrowth.  
  
_Spread out and take point positions,_ Severus tersely commanded.  
  
_It's too thick, _Draco said worriedly._ Take to the trees.  
_  
They scrabbled up the nearest trunk, and Harry had to calm a napping green viper, and reassured the frightened snake that they didn't mean any harm. They continued on, their traveling infinitely easier moving from limb to limb.  
  
  
  
Alanna, James and Xander appeared in a drab, gray building, a demon standing in front of them, guarding the portal. James quickly dispatched him, and they slid cautiously out of the stone building. They were in some sort of training camp, a mix of demons and the occasional human being put through rigorous exercises. James turned around the side of the building, and ducked back into an alcove as a group of demons and three humans ran past. He stared at their retreating backs. _Remus!!_ He said in disbelief. _Remus is running with the demons!  
_  
Alanna's head whipped around and she stared at the runners as well. _Well, this makes our job harder. All right, we have to swipe a few uniforms and get running as well. If that doesn't work, we blow the hell out of this place. Sound good?  
_  
_ I love it when you give orders like that,_ Xander smirked.  
  
_Leave the foreplay at home!! _James snapped.  
  
Xander muffled a snicker. They attracted two other demons over to the building and quickly killed them, taking the three uniforms they had and sliding into them. They walked back out purposefully, quickly blending into the mass of demons and Death Eaters. _Now, to find him again,_ Xander determinedly opened his mind on the most basic of levels, searching until he located Remus again. _Right, they're half a mile due west. Let's go!_ they quickly turned, heading in the direction Remus had taken.  
  
  
  
After an hour of hiking, the three demigods arrived at the inky spot they had seen in a distance. Up close, the ebony stone castle loomed over them and Harry felt its iciness chill his very soul. _Oh my God this feels bad,_ he trembled slightly.  
  
_ Just think- this is only a simulation. How bad is the REAL thing going to be?_ Severus muttered, hugging himself.  
  
They dispatched the guards and snuck in through a ground level window. After killing ten more demons around the castle, they finally found Lily in the west tower. "Hey! You found me," she chirped happily and stood up. "All right, let's go," she said eagerly. "I want to see how you did that and got through here!"  
  
They walked back down quietly, slid back out the window, and hiked back to the portal without any mishap. They quickly stepped through and completed the ten mile hike back to the original portal. Ginny and Cdr. George stood in front of the portal, chatting quietly.  
  
"You're the first group back," Ginny said brightly. "So, how many demons am I going to have to replace?" she asked wearily.  
  
"Forty two," Severus smirked.  
  
  
  
Alanna and Xander started jogging, James barely keeping up. _Come on, you need to keep up! _Alanna snapped.  
  
_Geez, I'm trying!_ James shot back, redoubling his efforts.  
  
_ Quit fighting. We have more important things to worry about,_ Xander snapped. They quickly caught up with and passed Remus's group, and he locked eyes with James.  
  
_ Remus, can you join our group? _James asked his quietly.  
  
_Nope, I'm not supposed to help you at all.  
  
Fine, make this difficult then.  
  
_ The two groups entered an isolated area and James spun, throwing four daggers in an even spray. All found their targets and three demons and a human fell dead. Alanna pulled out her dochang, a long pole with a scythe like blade at the end and swung it, decapitating two in one strike. Xander swung his saber, taking out three more. Remus stood to the side, watching impassively as the automatons were destroyed.  
  
"All right, then, let's go," he said brightly, walking past the panting demigods. They glared at him. "What?"  
  
"Never mind." They quickly hiked back through the training camp and into the building that housed the portal. Just as they were stepping through, an alarm sounded.  
  
"Oh shit!" Alanna gasped. "GO GO GO!" She shoved everyone through and dove through herself, just missing a curse blasted her way. They landed on the other side and she quickly destroyed the Veil, announcing their presence to everyone. Demons came flocking. Grimly, the three demigods and the Werewolf stood their ground.  
  
  
  
"Whoops!" Harry said as an intense burst of magic flooded through him. "Alanna's been discovered." He, Draco and Severus Apparated back, appearing right next to the other four. "What do you say we torch them?" Harry asked Alanna conversationally.  
  
"Sounds good." Harry and Draco conjoined their minds and magic, powering up. They could feel the ground trembling and stopped, afraid they'd take out the planet underneath them.  
  
_ Harry, in the real situation, you two wouldn't stop,_ Xander said in awe. _You could destroy them ALL with just a thought. Do it.  
_  
_Gladly._ Harry and Draco concentrated and the demons around them, five or six hundred of them, combusted instantly. The power swelled and rippled through them, leaking out form every pore. _Whoa, power overload,_ they thought, the power not abating but growing with use. _We have to leave,_ they thought frantically, Apparating to the mansion.  
  
_Smooth move, moron!_ Alanna snapped at Xander. _Go on and do it, real smart!  
  
I didn't think that their power would GROW like that! It was incredible! It felt like Mother but not like her... OH SHIT, you don't think she..._ Xander trailed off, panicking.  
  
_ Oh HELL no!!! She promised!!!_ Alanna burst out furiously.  
  
"What is going on???" James, Lily, Ginny, Severus and Cdr. George demanded.  
  
"We have to talk to Mother NOW!" they snapped, Apparating.  
  
  
  
Harry and Draco appeared in the foyer of the mansion and immediately dashed for their room. _Damn, who knew that using your powers like this would make you so horny, Harry??_ Draco gasped as Harry pinned him to the wall in the hallway, kissing him roughly. He hastily threaded his fingers through Harry's spikes, dissolving the hair gel with a thought and yanking his head closer, trying to devour him.  
  
_ We have to get rid of the excess power somehow. Is there a problem with that?_ Harry asked, kissing his way down his soul mate's neck and collarbone, sucking and biting, leaving vivid red marks in his wake. Draco arched and purred, grinding his hips against Harry, who gasped and moaned in response. They tandem Apparated immediately, collapsing on their bed. Harry ran his hands through Draco's hair, making him purr with intensity.  
  
"You like that, don't you," Harry hissed in Parseltongue, sucking in a particularly sensitive spot right below Draco's ear. Draco's insides turned into mush, and his mouth went dry. Desperately, he clamped his fingers to Harry's temples, seeking to merge their minds as one, complete and whole.  
  
_ That is so sexy when you do that,_ Draco thought desperately, his thoughts hazing over from the unbridled lust rampaging through his body. He felt his mind melt into Harry's and they slid together mentally as well as physically.  
  
_ You're mine,_ the thought came unbidden. _Now and forever.  
_  
  
  
The next two weeks passed by quickly. They continued on their runs every morning, working their way up to twelve miles a day in a little over an hour and fifteen minutes. Every evening, they would practice sparring with the demons Ginny had created, focusing more on quickly killing them rather than trying to evade them, since Harry and Draco displayed their awesome powers that first day. Cdr. George was now more concerned, if they were to be discovered, that they could get themselves and the hostages out safely.  
  
They held Quidditch practice seven times in two weeks, and realized that, no matter how hard they ran drills or scrimmaged, they weren't going to get any better. They were playing in top form.  
  
Rome's students arrived that Saturday morning at nine o'clock, and hour and thirty minutes before the game was to start. They trooped into the Great Hall and helped themselves to breakfast, sitting at the Slytherin Tables next to Harry, Draco, Ginny and the other first string players, chatting animatedly.  
  
"You know," Draco suggested before Harry could shut him up, "why don't you play up to your skills? League be damned, I want to see how good you really are."  
  
"Well, we definitely aren't as good as your team, but who is?" the captain retorted, taking a bite of scrambled eggs. "But, yes, I think we can do that. What do you say, team?"  
  
"Sure, why not?" their keeper offered wryly. "It's not like we have anything to lose, and you will be champions." A wave of assent went down the line of Rome's players.  
  
Harry groaned. "You just had to say that, didn't you, Draco!" he accused. "You just had to jeopardize our chances!"  
  
"Jeopardize what? We're going to take the championship, no questions asked. Where's they only ones who have won all our games. Durmstrung lost to us twice and they're second." Ginny smacked Harry upside the head. "So we'll still win."  
  
"Fine, fine. Let's get on with playing then, shall we?" Harry asked.  
  
"We still have an hour before the game, you dork," Seamus said with a laugh.  
  
"Oh."  
  
Twenty minutes later, Harry walked out of the Hall, unable to wait any longer for the game. He put on his Quidditch uniform in silence, waiting for the other players to show up. Draco walked in two minutes later, staring at Harry curiously. "Are you all right?" he asked softly.  
  
"Yeah, I just want the game to be over," Harry sighed, his head in his hands.  
  
"Why?" Draco asked, slightly confused.  
  
"Because it'll be one less thing in the way before we get Sirius and Laurel. That's all I can think about," Harry explained, his face betraying his anxiety.  
  
"Oh, Harry." Draco wrapped his arms around the other boy, holding him tightly.  
  
"I just have a bad feeling about this, that's all. I feel like we should go now to get them, like something bad is going to happen very soon."  
  
Draco just stared at him, his expression unreadable and Harry didn't even try to push it telepathically.  
  
The rest of the team filed in to prepare for the game. As soon as they were dressed, Draco and Harry gave their customary speeches, psyching the team to play.  
  
They sped out onto the field, and Harry and Draco shook the captain's hand eagerly while in midair. The Referee released the Snitch, Bludgers, and the Quaffle in rapid succession and Rome quickly sped forward, taking possession.  
  
Ginny grinned. _Now this is a real game!_ she said happily, sliding underneath the chaser with the Quaffle. Harry and Draco slid on either side, and, as one, crossed right in front of him, causing him to drop the Quaffle into Ginny's waiting hands. She sped off, amid curses from the other team, laughing the entire way to the goal. She feinted, and then dropped the Quaffle through the leftmost hoop, scoring.  
  
On and on it went. Back and forth, they scored on each other, Hogwarts managing to remain in the lead by about thirty points. James and Rome's Seeker battled head to head, having seen and lost the Snitch four times in the last half hour alone. They were nearing the hour mark when they spotted it again, this time directly over the stands, hovering a foot over Lily's head.  
  
_ Lily! DUCK!! _James yelled as they threw themselves into the stands. The snitch darted away, passing so close to Severus's head that it ruffled his hair. He threw himself to the ground as the two seekers whipped by him, chasing the elusive golden ball.  
  
Twenty minutes later, they had lost it again. The score was 410 to 390, Hogwarts, and they had been playing for almost an hour and a half. _Dad, not to pressure you, but we're getting really tired, so could you please catch the Snitch? _Harry asked plaintively.  
  
_ I can't bloody find it!_ James snapped from almost 500 feet up. Just then, it hovered next to Harry.  
  
_ Dad! It's right next to my ear!!!_ Harry snapped.  
  
_ Oh. Gangway!!!!_ James yelled, diving right next to his son. Harry threw himself out of the way, catching the Quaffle and hurling it into the nearest goal. The Keeper grimly blocked it, and threw it as hard as he could to the chasers. James pulled up from the dive, the other Seeker hot on his heels. He suddenly grabbed something from midair and started yelling. "I'VE GOT IT!!!!!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.  
  
_ WE DID IT!!!!_ screamed Emily, diving towards James, Harry, Draco and Ginny. They boosted James onto their shoulders, congratulating each other profusely. The students and teachers spilled onto the field, cheering.  
  
Harry and Draco flew to the other captain and shook his hand. "Hey, by the way, what's your name?" Harry asked, grinning.  
  
"Anthony DeMassi, who are you?"  
  
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Harry Potter."  
  
Draco grinned slightly. "Draco Malfoy."  
  
"REALLY?" The other captain grinned. "I never would have guessed that you two would be working together enough to get your team cohesive!"  
  
"Some things changed over the summer," Draco said with a grin.  
  
"Well, I couldn't have lost to a better team. How do you move so well together?" Anthony asked curiously.  
  
_ Simple_, Harry said mentally.  
  
Anthony stared at him. _That was telepathy.  
_  
_Yes._ Draco grinned.  
  
_Isn't that cheating?  
_  
_ Nope. It isn't magic per say._ Harry snickered softly.  
  
_ I see. We have the same connection, we just didn't use it.  
  
You're Elementals?_ Draco was surprised.  
  
_ It's in our curriculum.  
  
Oh_. they both shook their heads slightly._ It was taken out of Hogwart's curriculum almost two hundred years ago, but we added it this past year when we got instructors.  
  
Sounds good. We'll have to try it, playing with the link up. Most of us find it too invasive to keep open for very long.  
  
You can keep shields up through it. Does our conversation feel invasive?  
  
_ Anthony's eyes widened._ Actually, no. How do you do that?  
  
We have shields up, but still talk through them. You'll get the hang of it.  
  
Considering that this is my last year, probably not. Thanks for the suggestion, though.  
  
Well, Potter Manor is open to anyone who wants to learn. We'll be there all summer and it's easy enough to find.  
  
Thanks, Harry!  
  
_ Anthony and the rest of his team and classmates turned and walked to their coach, who was distributing portkeys. Anthon whispered something into his coach's ear and the coach looked up, grinning broadly. He said something in Italian, which Anthony replied to, and the coach walked over quickly.  
  
"You are Harry Potter?" he asked in heavily accented English.  
  
"Yes, I am." The Italian coach shook his hand eagerly.  
  
"You can help us with the Elemental training?"  
  
"Yes. You can come to Potter Manor over the summer and we'll help you."  
  
"Thank you!!!" he said eagerly, shaking his hand again. "I must get my students back to school!" with that, the man turned and walked off.  
  
"Weird," Harry said quietly. Draco could only agree.  
  
As soon as they stepped foot in the school, they were surrounded by students and faculty alike. Professor McGonagall raised her voice above the din. "WE'RE HAVING A CELEBRATION IN THE GREAT HALL IN A HALF A HOUR!!!! EVERYONE BETTER BE THERE!!!!!"  
  
Everyone did go to the party, and it lasted into the wee hours of the morning.

  
  
A/N: WHOOHOOO!!!!!! It's done, people!!! FINALLY!!!!!!! Anyway, I'm sorry for the delay. It's my fault entirely, as I could write eighteen pages for the other story, but didn't have the patience to write eighteen pages for this one. Don't worry, as the action will pick up next chapter. So, I'm thinking seven more chapters to go at the most for this one. Jesus Christ, it took 30 chapters and we're in February! What the hell am I writing??? And, now, a note from my lovely Beta. Never mind, I guess dragging her out of bed at 6 a.m. to write a review wasn't a good idea. ANNIE PUT DOWN THE FRYING PAN FOR GOD'S SAKE!!!!!!! She's going back to sleep. Anyway, read and review- or don't.  
  
As for my other story, I'm not adding notes of any kind until the end. So, I'll answer reviews here as they seem to be from the same reader. To the lonely flaming flamer who wants just straight slash (OXYMOROM, PEOPLE!!!) and thinks Harry& Hermione& Draco is gross, sucks to be you. You KNOW JK Rowling is going to have her precious Hero hook up with a girl, be it Ginny or Lavender or Cho or Hermione (Yes, even SHE'S a possibility.) So, all of us slashers are going to be rather put out about it. To everyone else who said it rocks, thank you very much!!! (The other 32 reviews). I so appreciate the wonderful things you said, especially Chibichibi, goldenserpent, yuki kari, and everyone else. Thank you all!


	31. Chapter 31

A/N: Lioncourt, Athenakitty said the same thing. YES SHE IS, but she doesn't know yet and won't figure it out until after the attack. She and Xander are going to have it out. Hormonal demigoddess on the rampage!!! YAY!!!  
  
Oh, and I am currently between jobs... I couldn't stand working as a life guard any more, and I applied to Superior Ambulance Service in Chicago, but they haven't called me for an interview yet. Anyway, that means I'll have lots of time to write... but will I use it? Oh, and I'm taking a creative writing course so hopefully I'm going to learn some useful things. Not that I don't like my style of writing, but... it can never hurt to get some actual instruction, since I'm not exactly an English major. I took one composition class and it scarred me emotionally... and now I'm in creative writing, and hopefully things will get better.  
  
Anyway, thank you for the lovely reviews. Enjoy the chapter.  
  
Chapter 31  
  
The next morning, Severus strode into the Slytherin House, holding enough Pepper Ups and Sobriety potions to give to everyone in the Slytherin Dorms, smirking the entire time. "COME AND GET IT!!!" he yelled sadistically right outside the Dorms, waking everyone up. Harry groaned and buried his head under the pillow, begging for the room to stop spinning and his stomach to stop lurching every time he moved.  
  
"All right, whose bright idea was it to transfigure all the drinks to Suicides?" Draco muttered from next to Harry.  
  
"That would be you," Eric groaned from the other bed. Draco pulled the curtains long enough to glare at him and then rolled back over, trying to drown out the agony he was currently experiencing.  
  
Severus stalked into the room gracefully. "RISE AND SHINE!!!" he yelled again sadistically, an amused smirk on his face.  
  
Draco flipped him the bird and buried his head under the pillows, trying to block out the noise that was making his head scream in pain.  
  
Sev snickered, Laurel laughing mentally along with him. _You know, Love, I think they don't like you right now, _she giggled.  
  
_What gave you that idea?? They LOVE me!!_ Severus sat down on Harry and Draco's bed. Harry turned green and sprinted for the bathroom, barely making it in time.  
  
Draco and Eric grimaced as they heard the sounds of Harry throwing up in the bathroom. "Well, that's attractive," Severus commented blandly as the two hung over Slytherins looked as if they were planning on joining Harry in the bathroom. He dangled the potions in front of Draco's face. "Would you like one?"  
  
Draco snatched it from his hand and downed it in one gulp, grimacing at the taste. "Thanks, Uncle Sev," he moaned softly, rolling back over and closing his eyes. Severus stood up and handed one to Eric without a word and walked into the bathroom.  
  
Draco followed him and they force fed the potion to Harry, who immediately looked and felt better. He stood up and rinsed his mouth out, grimacing.  
  
"All right, now, get ready. The awards ceremony is today in two hours." Severus turned to walk out the door.  
  
"What awards ceremony??" Draco and Harry protested simultaneously.  
  
Severus paused at the door. "The one we're hosting for the other three schools in the Great Hall to show good support for a job well done in Quidditch. Now get dressed." He walked out.  
  
Draco and Harry stared at each other, holding their still aching heads. "Did we agree to this?" Draco asked tiredly.  
  
"I don't see a way out of it. We are the captains, after all," Harry glumly said, walking to the shower. Draco joined him, determined to brighten up his day considerably.  
  
  
  
An hour later, they emerged from the bathroom. Eric stood outside, completely dressed and obviously showered. "Hey, you two," he said with a smirk.  
  
"Hi," they said coolly. "Have fun with Emmy?"  
  
Eric blushed and walked off, shaking his head slightly.  
  
Draco and Harry shrugged and got dressed, walking back out into the Common room a few minutes later.  
  
"Is there a reason they think it's funny to tease us?" Harry asked softly while they were walking. "I mean, come on. It's sex."  
  
"They're just jealous because they haven't gotten laid yet," Draco said, attracting Emily's attention as they sat down.  
  
"Who hasn't gotten laid?" she asked, her eyes sparkling.  
  
"Your boyfriend, for one," Harry muttered.  
  
"What did he do this time?" she muttered, walking off. Dimly, they could hear her yelling at Eric, calling him several curse words, and then silence.  
  
"Well, that was interesting," Draco said, resting his head on Harry's lap.  
  
Harry checked the time. "It's time to go," he said softly.  
  
They stood and Apparated into the Great Hall, where Oliver Wood was directing the setup of the trophies on the Head Table as well as the extension of the tables and expansion of the room. They sat down in their customary seats, eating breakfast while watching with great amusement the ten or so people, Dumbledore, Severus and McGonagall being three of them, scurry around under Wood's anal retentive perfectionism.  
  
Wood finally noticed them. "Ah! Harry! Would you mind helping out?" he asked cheerily, ignoring Draco.  
  
Harry sighed and started to stand up, but Draco pulled him back down. "He can't, Wood. He took a Bludger to the face at top force and is on Pomfrey's orders not to do anything strenuous."  
  
"Oh." Wood took a closer look. "You don't look too well, Harry. You better be well enough for the semifinals and finals, though. Hogwarts needs you healthy."  
  
"He'll be fine," Draco drawled. "He just needs to rest for the next two or three days."  
  
_Thank you, Doctor Draco_, Harry thought with amusement, looking appropriately 'ill'.  
  
_Anything to get you out of forced labor. Does he care about anything besides Quidditch?  
  
The question is - Can his brain handle anything other than Quidditch?_ Harry retorted wryly.  
  
The other students started to walk into the Great Hall, Dumbledore directing traffic and sending them all to the Slytherin table, keeping the other tables for the other schools. The students from the other schools started filing in, led by their respective Headmasters. Dumbledore directed them to a specific table and they sat, expectant expressions on their faces.  
  
As soon as everyone was seated, Wood stood in front of the Head table, tapped a quick Sonorous on his throat, and began, reading from a piece of parchment.  
  
"Good Afternoon, assembled students and faculty of the four schools in our Division." He cleared his throat nervously. "We're assembled here today to- Aw hell," he muttered, his voice still carrying. "That damn scripted speech sounds terrible!!!"  
  
Everyone started chuckling as he crumpled the piece of parchment and tossed it over his shoulder. It hit Remus Lupin in the nose and he opened it, reading it with interest.  
  
"Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you for participating, all of you. This has been an incredible experiment in interschool, intercontinental, and intercultural relations. We've managed to get the twenty leading schools on six of the seven continents to work together, something not even the International League has been able to do since America, Canada, Mexico and the South American countries split to form their own league eighty years ago. So, well done, Dragon Fang, Hogwarts, Durmstrung and Beauxbatons!!"  
  
Applause broke out among the assembled schools, as well as some cheers.  
  
Oliver waited until the noise had died down before continuing. "We have trophies for first, second, third and fourth places. So, without further ado, I'll get on with announcing who won what. Would, when I call the school, the team captain or captains come forward with their Headmasters or Mistresses?"  
  
He checked a list he pulled from his pocket. "Right, then, Fourth Place goes to Magica Universidad de Roma." Anthony walked forward, followed by a stern looking man who continuously swore vulgarly in Italian the entire time. They accepted the small trophy. Anthony just looked bored by the whole thing.  
  
_ Hey, Anthony!_ Draco called.  
  
_Yes?_ he asked, playing with the trophy.  
  
_ You deserve second place with your team's talents, you know,_ Harry added in.  
  
_Well, we never cared about the Tournament, so we never bothered to play up to our abilities. Profesore is going to kill us all for this. He's been muttering Sicilian curses at us for the whole six months we've had to do this.  
_  
Harry snickered as Oliver called out, "Third Place, Beaxbatons!" The team captain and Madame Maxine walked forward to collect their trophy, their school cheering happily, glad they weren't in last place.  
  
"Second Place, Durmstrung." Harry cheered as the surly captain flipped him the bird and stalked up to Oliver, staring at the mid sized trophy with disgust. He took it reluctantly, his eyes focused on the first place trophy with undisguised longing. The Durmstrung Headmaster glared at the Hogwarts Quidditch team with loathing before sitting his captain down with a thump.  
  
Oliver Wood grinned. "And now, Division Champions and first place, Hogwarts!!!" Draco and Harry stood up, accompanied by Dumbledore and walked to the front amid cheers and clapping so loud the ceiling shook. They accepted the large trophy with matching grins. Oliver clapped Harry on the back, hugged Dumbledore and stood in front of Draco for a second without the slightest clue of how to respond. Draco solved the problem by sticking out his hand with a grin. Oliver took it with relief and shook his hand firmly, a matching grin on his face.  
  
"You did it!" Emily yelled, hugging them both as soon as they had returned to their seats. Everyone mobbed them, hugging, kissing and shaking hands.  
  
"We ALL did it," Harry said firmly.  
  
"Students and faculty, we would be honored if you would stay for Lunch, as a way for us to say thank you for participating," Dumbledore said after everyone had quieted down. Food appeared on the tables and everyone dug in, eager to take full advantage of Hogwarts' hospitality and excellent food. Harry and Draco motioned for Anthony and the Rome team to sit by them and they did. Everyone took their example and moved around, visiting cousins and Owl Pals to catch up on old times.  
  
Oliver sat down in between Ginny and Harry and reached for a plate. "All right, as winners I'm supposed to tell you what happens next. Now, Division Two's winner is Southern California's School of Magic. You-"  
  
"Hey!" Emily exclaimed, startled. "I WENT there!! Their team is incredible!"  
  
"Were you on it?" Ginny asked curiously.  
  
"Yeah, I was second string Goalie. Their goalie, Hailie Johnson, if she's even still there, is absolutely phenomenal. She can catch anything. She even caught the Snitch once in practice. Just to see if she could."  
  
Harry gulped slightly. _That's bad.  
_  
"Anyway, they won their Division, as did Ontario Mage's Academy of Ontario from Division Three, and Academy of Isis from Alexandria of Division Four. Divisions One and Three face each other in three weeks at the same place we held the last World Quidditch Cup, the same as Two and Four, but in the Egyptian stadium. The winners face each other, and the losers face each other, which would give us places of first, second, third and fourth." Oliver took a swig of Pumpkin Juice.  
  
"So we play Ontario in three weeks? That's February thirteenth," Harry mused out loud.  
  
"I'm glad you can keep track of the days and count," Draco said with a grin.  
  
Harry elbowed him.  
  
  
  
Harry and Draco circled each other warily, their weapons at the ready. Draco feinted, drawing Harry in with a block. Draco swung low, this time a real blow, and Harry jumped straight up, flipping lightly over Draco's head and hovering in midair. Behind him he swung with one of his small swords and blocked with the other as Draco turned, swinging again. The swing turned into a hasty parry and a leap backwards into midair. They continued to battle, turning flips and flying across the room. Steel clashed on steel, and they fell backwards from the force of the blows. Panting, they sprang forwards again, only to be stopped in mid motion by an invisible barrier.  
  
"Enough. Very good." Alanna rose into the air, standing in between the two sweating, out of breath young men. "Take your places. Next?" she asked, eyeing the crowd still watching the two demigods avidly. "Oh COME ON, people!" she snapped, losing her patience quickly. "You've all SEEN them fight. We've been at this for two weeks now! It's nothing new! Come on, do I have to hand out detentions like Severus Snape???"  
  
Severus glared at her from the ground and hefted his twin crescent blades, the Snape family heirlooms. She scowled back at him, twirling her dochang.  
  
Harry and Draco's heads turned back and forth. _This feels like a tennis match,_ Harry muttered.  
  
_ What's tennis?_ Draco asked curiously. Harry sent him a visual absently before moving forward, blocking Severus and Alanna's vision.  
  
_ Come on, Alanna, Uncle Sev. Don't get into a battle of wills here. Neither of you will win and we have an hour and ten minutes left of class.  
_  
Severus scowled at Harry, but he didn't budge. Alanna glared at him but he still didn't budge. Draco just watched, rolling his eyes. _Sometimes I think I'm bound to an idiot with no sense of self preservation,_ he muttered, floating over and pulling on Harry's arm. Harry still didn't budge. _Harry, you're taking on the two most stubborn gits in the school,_ Draco said in exasperation.  
  
_I know,_ Harry said, not moving an inch. Draco sighed.  
  
_You're being a stubborn git.  
  
So are they._ Draco grimaced and pulled on his arm again.  
  
_Come on,_ he whined.  
  
_No. They shouldn't be fighting._ Alanna and Severus glared at him.  
  
"Mister Potter, would you like detention?" Severus asked, his voice a dangerous velvet purr.  
  
"Not if I give him one first," Alanna snapped back, just as angry.  
  
"How about you BOTH give him detention?" Draco suggested.  
  
Harry glared at him. "You aren't helping!"  
  
Severus and Alanna grinned. "That's an excellent idea, Mister Malfoy," Severus smirked. "Detention, Mister Potter."  
  
Alanna smirked as well. "Detention as well, for insulting a teacher. You'll serve mine with Filch, doing whatever he wants you to do." Harry groaned.  
  
Severus smirked. "You'll spend your detention with me, as I know you love to rearrange the Potions ingredients." Harry rounded on Draco and shoved him, hard.  
  
"You bastard!!" he hissed. "You had to go suggest that, didn't you!!!"  
  
Draco hit the wall and winced, rubbing his head. "Well, I got them agreeing on something," he muttered.  
  
Harry glared at him for the rest of the class.  
  
  
  
Two nights later, Harry miserably walked down to Filch's office, his detention starting in five minutes. He had given Draco the cold shoulder for the entire two days, understandably angry with his soul mate. _Stupid bugger got me detention. I didn't even deserve detention. Little bastard. It isn't fair.  
  
I heard that,_ Draco snapped angrily. _How many times do I have to say I'm sorry??  
_  
Harry continued to ignore him, reveling in the petty, childish act. He stalked to the door to Filch's office and knocked brusquely.  
  
The door creaked open, and Filch stuck his head out. "Well, come on in then." he muttered, staring at Harry as he had just scraped him off of his shoes.  
  
Harry sighed and stalked in. "What do I have to do?" he snapped, standing stiffly in front of the desk.  
  
"Well, to begin, I need my file cabinets organized," Filch said, shoving the teen over to seven dusty cabinets in the corner of the room. "Get to it, NO MAGIC!" he snapped, going back to his desk.  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. "Bull shit," he muttered in a fit of rebellion and, within a second, the cabinets sparkled, their files organized and cross referenced.  
  
Filch looked up. "Well, get on with it!" he snapped.  
  
"Why? It's done," Harry said, scowling.  
  
Filch shot out of his chair. "I SAID NO MAGIC!!" he roared, grabbing Harry's collar and shaking him. Harry's eyes widened and lost their focus.  
  
_No, Vernon, don't hit me... _he pleaded, one of his earliest memories rising to the surface and sweeping him away.  
  
_Harry?_ Draco asked from the Slytherin Common Room, feeling a sudden wave of terror crash over him._ HARRY!  
_  
"No," whimpered Harry as Filch continued to scream at him and shake him. "Don't hurt me, please," he whispered.  
  
Filch didn't hear him and dragged him from the office. "You're in for it now, boy," he growled. "Dumbledore will hear about this." Harry broke from his grasp, his powers flaring.  
  
Draco felt Harry show his powers. "What the hell?" he muttered, Apparating.  
  
Harry slammed Filch into the wall. "I told you not to hurt me," he hissed. "I told you, Uncle Vernon. I already dealt with you but you came back."  
  
Draco appeared behind them just as Harry threw the Caretaker through the wall, driving him through the stone. "You never leave me alone, do you, Vernon?" Harry snarled, Filch in a death grip. The older man's face was a pale shade of blue as he slumped, unconscious.  
  
Draco gaped at him, before forcing himself into Harry's mind. _HARRY!!_ he yelled mentally. _THAT ISN'T VERNON!!!  
  
Wha... Draco?_ Harry asked, his eyes slowly focusing._ What's going on? Where's Vernon?  
  
He wasn't there, Love. You had a flashback,_ Draco said worriedly. _Are you all right?  
_  
Harry stared into Draco's silver eyes before nodding hesitantly. _I think so. I don't remember what happened too well.  
  
Can you let go of Filch now?_ Draco asked calmly, trying to be as gentle as possible.  
  
_ What, I'm- AARGH!_ Harry yelled frantically as he turned around, dropping the now blue Filch in terror.  
  
Draco quickly repaired the man's throat, feeling for a pulse. _Good, he's still alive, but barely. I need to take him to the hospital wing. UNCLE SEV!!!_ he yelled.  
  
_WHAT???_ Severus snapped.  
  
_Get Lily and James down to Filch's office now!!!_ he yelled back. _Harry had a nasty flashback and almost killed Filch!  
  
COMING!_ Severus yelled. Moments later, the three of them Apparated straight to Harry and Draco's side. They enveloped the still shaking demigod in a bear hug, surrounding him mentally and physically with love and care. Draco Apparated straight to the hospital wing, holding the unconscious Caretaker tightly.  
  
Madam Pomfrey stared at Draco as he deposited Filch on the bed. "Oh my word! What happened?" she gasped.  
  
"Harry. Need I say more? I've healed him, but he needs observation. Never EVER get on Harry's bad side." Draco scowled.  
  
"That gives no right for Harry to attack one of the employees!" Poppy gasped.  
  
"I don't know what he did to Harry, but it put Harry into a flashback of being mistreated by his uncle," Draco said with a sneer. "Speaking of which, I need to get back." He Apparated immediately, appearing next to the now openly sobbing Harry. Draco slid him into his arms and rubbed his back, Lily and James holding the both of them. "Shh, Love, it's all right. I promised I wouldn't let him hurt you. It's all right."  
  
"I almost killed him but I thought he was Vernon he just kept yelling and shaking me and tried to drag me out the door and I panicked and thought he was Vernon and I'm so sorry!!!" Harry wailed desperately, burrowing into Draco and Lily's chest.  
  
James rubbed his back comfortingly. "He's going to be all right, Harry. I promise. You didn't hurt him badly and he'll be fine."  
  
"Are you sure?" Harry asked.  
  
Draco sighed. "I healed him myself, Harry. He's going to be fine."  
  
Harry sighed. "I thought I was over this. I mean, after what we did to the bastard, I thought I wouldn't have any more dreams or flashbacks."  
  
"How often are you having them?" Lily asked, chewing her lip with worry.  
  
Draco opened his mouth, but Harry shot him a look. "They rarely happen," he said, twisting his sleeve and playing with the stitching.  
  
Lily sighed, not believing him for a second. "I swear, I still want to torture the bastard, even after we did."  
  
Harry shook his head. "It's nothing," he muttered. "Really. Don't worry."  
  
"You almost had a breakdown and killed someone," snapped Severus. "Of course we're going to worry."  
  
Harry hung his head and Draco rubbed his back comfortingly. _I hate this.  
  
I know, Love. I know._ they group Apparated into Lily and James's quarters.  
  
"You're staying here tonight. Don't argue," Lily snapped when Harry opened his mouth to protest. James transfigured the couch into a queen sized bed, and Draco Apparated, appearing a minute later with their pajamas in a bundle under his arm.  
  
"Here," he said, thrusting a black tee-shirt and a pair of black satin boxers to Harry. Harry grumbled and stalked to the bathroom.  
  
Once he had shut the door, Lily turned to Draco. "Now that he can't hear, tell us. How many flashbacks and nightmares does he have on a regular basis?"  
  
Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "It depends. I can keep him from having nightmares, but we have to sleep with our minds meshed. Whenever we don't sleep like that, he has the nightmares. He has flashbacks when he feels physically threatened, which makes me wonder what the hell Filch did to him. It takes yelling and hitting him or grabbing him or something, which means that Filch roughed him up somehow."  
  
Severus groaned. "I keep telling that man he isn't allowed to use the whips and chains, or even touch the students. Does he listen to me? Of course not."  
  
Harry walked out of the bathroom, wearing a black tee shirt that said in bold white letters 'Who are you and why are you reading my shirt?' Lily stared at him and chuckled. She sat down on the bed, patting the spot next to her invitingly. Harry dropped next to her and snuggled into her shoulder. Draco grabbed his stuff and slid into the bathroom, changing quickly.  
  
When he came back out, Harry was under the blankets, his head on his mother's lap, resting next to her rounded stomach, and she was stroking his hair. James was curled up behind her, rubbing Harry's shoulder and Severus was nowhere to be seen. "Come on over," Lily invited when he paused uncertainly in the doorway. He smiled and curled up next to Harry, linking their minds deeply.  
  
Lily and James sat with them until they fell asleep and then tucked them in quietly. "My poor boy," James said softly, dimming the lights and kissing Harry on the forehead. "Keep him safe, Draco".  
  
"Mmmm," Draco smiled in his sleep as Harry's Mum and Dad walked from the room, careful not to disturb them.  
  
  
  
"FASTER!!!" Harry bellowed from midair three days later, as Madam Hooch directed the second string in drills during Quidditch practice. "WE'VE GOT TO MOVE FASTER, PEOPLE!!!" He hurtled the Quaffle at Ginny, who caught it and weaved in and out of the demons they had appropriated from the tactical training. She passed to Draco just as quickly, and broke away from the attack on the demon Keeper. They had programmed the demons to play Quidditch at the professional league level, and so far the demons were winning, 110 to 80.  
  
A demon beater swiped at Draco with his bat and Draco dodged, cursing. "Did you HAVE to program them to cheat??" he snapped, quickly shooting the Quaffle at the goal. The Keeper missed and it went through the hoop.  
  
"We're almost caught up!" Harry panted. "Keep up the good work. BLAISE!! SEAMUS!!! CONTROL THOSE BLUDGERS!!!" he snapped as one whizzed by his ear. A mixture of Welsh, Gaelic, and English curses was his only reply. Harry grinned. "Now THAT'S what I wanted to hear! And Draco, did you have a better idea of how to train?"  
  
Draco scowled at him and shot him the bird, quickly regaining control of the Quaffle by stealing it from the passing demon Chaser and shooting back to the goal. He passed to Harry, who took a Bludger to the shoulder and almost dropped the Quaffle from suddenly nerveless fingers. "SHIT!" he cursed loudly, switching the Quaffle to his left hand. Ginny sped up to him and he passed awkwardly, gasping in relief when she scored again. Draco halted play and examined his shoulder.  
  
"No good, it's dislocated," Draco muttered angrily. Harry just rolled his eyes. "Hold still." Draco quickly jammed it back into the socket and Harry bit back a yelp of pain. Draco's hand glowed briefly and he rotated his arm in relief.  
  
"Thanks," Harry muttered, rubbing the residual soreness from his abused shoulder. "All right, let's go!" he snapped, sending the Quaffle back into play with a wave of his hand.  
  
"Are you nuts???" Draco demanded. "You just dislocated your bloody shoulder!!! You aren't playing!"  
  
"The semifinals are in a week, Draco," Harry snapped. "We're going to bloody win!" He took off on his broom, Draco chasing after him.  
  
  
  
The boy, _Freak or Loser or Pathetic, that's my name and don't forget it,_ no more than seven or eight, lay in a tiny, cramped space, curled up in a ball. Someone help me, anyone help me, he pleaded silently, knowing that it didn't matter. What he did to try to protect himself didn't matter. The monster was bigger and stronger than him. The monster took what he wanted every time.  
  
For now, the house was still, but for the boy, _No, I have a name but I'm not allowed to say it, or they'll punish me_, had seen the way the monster had looked at him during the monster's dinner, the fat, piggy eyes glaring at him hatefully, promising pain and hurt and blood all in one look.  
  
Now he was hidden in the tiny space, cramped into the furthest corner, hoping that the monster wouldn't come looking for him that night. Maybe the monster had forgotten. Maybe he had fallen asleep. Maybe he would be leaving the boy alone that night and the boy would finally be able to heal himself not with magic, _it's not magic, they say magic doesn't exist, it's not magic,_ instead of suffering for another night with the tender bruises on his hip and arms and legs that the monster had given him. Bruises so big that Aunt Petunia was worried and wanted to take him to the hospital to check for internal bleeding, whatever that meant.  
  
And so the boy waited, terror mounting and easing alternately by the second, his heart pounding. He dropped into a restless slumber, exhaustion and the need to heal winning over the terror. A faint green glow emanated from him as he twitched and jerked, nightmares plaguing him. His bruises faded and cleared, and the foot that had been paining him, broken most likely, stopped its aching.  
  
Creak. The boy bolted upright, terror leaking from every pore. Creak. Thud. Thump. Thump. Thud. _Noooo, _he moaned, trying to make himself invisible, trying to break the locks, trying to do anything that would get him out of there and away from the monster. The thuds grew closer and closer, until they were right over head. Thud. Thud. Thud. The sounds shook the sloped ceiling, making the walls vibrate. _Make it stop, please make it stop, don't let him hurt me,_ he pleaded desperately.  
  
The thuds continued until they stopped right outside the tiny door. A grunt and a few fumbles against the metal locks were heard and the door was flung open quietly, harsh white light streaming into the tiny space. The boy whimpered. "Please, please don't," he begged, his voice little more than a whisper, knowing it did no good but pleading anyway.  
  
"Shut up, freak," the monster growled. "You're getting what you deserve, you dirty little abomination." He reached in, the boy trying to cower away from the enormous hand. On an irrational impulse, the boy sank his teeth into the hand, clawing and yelling.  
  
The monster slammed him across the face, knocking the boy into the back wall, shaking the wall. He grabbed the boy around the neck and dragged him from the cramped space, his breathing ragged and panting. "You're going to get it, freak, abomination. You're getting what you deserve.   
  
Draco shot upright, a thin, keening noise echoing throughout the room. It took him a minute to realize the noise was coming from his throat, panic clawing at his chest and terror clouding his mind. _It's not real, it's not real, it's not real,_ he chanted over and over, trying to calm his racing pulse and labored breathing. He was suddenly aware that someone was thrashing next to him. "Harry? Oh God, Harry, someone help me..." he moaned, his fingers scrabbling for the terrified boy's temple.  
  
He almost recoiled as he was swept back into the nightmare, this time watching as the monster- Vernon- brutalized and raped his soul mate. He managed to throw the monster from Harry's tiny, broken body and dragged the both of them to consciousness. Gasping for air, Draco lay next to the still semiconscious Harry, trying to rid himself of the terror that coursed through his veins.  
  
"Harry, this has to stop. This is the third nightmare I've been sucked into in as many days! Either you calm down, or you aren't playing in the semifinals!" Draco yelled, checking the time angrily. "Great, just great. It's four o'clock in the fucking morning!" Harry just curled up into a ball and refused to move, still half in his memories.  
  
_No, no, no, no, no, no, no,_ he chanted, trying to pull himself out and failing miserably. He sank even deeper, quickly pulled back into reliving one hell after another. He started whimpering and thrashing, choking out half screams.  
  
_SEV!!! LILY!!! JAMES!!! _Draco yelled. Lily, Severus and James Apparated in and Severus immediately took charge.  
  
"Draco, Lils, James, we all need to link and go in after him," Severus ordered tersely. Automatically, they obeyed, linking their minds together and flooding Draco's bond to the now openly screaming Harry.  
  
Eight year old Harry cowered in the cupboard, the monster's distorted and leering face peering in at him. "I've got you, you freak, you abomination, you worthless piece of shit and you can't do anything about it." He grabbed Harry by the scruff of the neck and hauled him out, holding him in midair. Turning, he switched his grip and grabbed Harry around the front of his neck, effectively cutting off his air supply and walked to the living room, dragging Harry behind him.  
  
Lily, Severus, James and Draco appeared right in front of them. "Let go of my son," James growled, his entire body glowing. Lily, Draco and Severus drew their powers around themselves, furious.  
  
Vernon snarled at them and swung. Severus raised a hand, and the man froze. Only his beady eyes moved, frantic. Lily gently pried Harry from the death grip and cradled him to her chest, rocking him back and forth, crooning softly. "It's all right, Baby," she said softly. "Mummy's got you. Mummy's got you."  
  
Harry remained unresponsive and she frantically checked for a pulse, gasping in relief when she found one. "His pulse is too slow, James," she said warningly. "We already took our revenge on him. We have to get Harry out of here now. He's going into shock."  
  
"Well, let's get out of here, then!" James snapped.  
  
"It does no good if you try to bring him up unconscious," Draco said quietly. " He has to be awake."  
  
"And how do you propose we do that?" Severus asked sharply, worried.  
  
"He usually has to complete the memory, everything fades and the real he is standing there," Draco said, looking faintly sick. "But maybe I can reach him mentally." He grabbed the unconscious boy's temples, feeling their link run through him and, holding his breath, pushed deeper into the link. Everyone watched as Draco vanished with a soft pop.  
  
He found himself floating in blackness, a huddled figure floating a little ways away. Draco immediately recognized him and floated over, wrapping Harry in a hug. "Come on, Love, end this," he said softy. "Your parents are here and they only want you to be safe."  
  
"It's my fault, it's all my fault," Harry mumbled over and over.  
  
Draco hissed in annoyance. "No it isn't, and I'm going to prove it to you. You aren't a freak, or worthless or bad, or an abomination," he snapped, reaching for Harry's temples. Harry stiffened and looked straight into his eyes as their consciousnesses melded together.  
  
_ I told you, not your fault,_ Draco managed as he was swept away.  
  
  
  
Lily, James and Severus watched as the living room of the Dursleys faded into blackness, to reveal Draco and Harry, locked in each other's minds. Cautiously, they floated over, putting their hands on the boys' shoulders. They reeled from the pain and hurt they felt emanating from the two of them. Standing firm against the onslaught of negative emotions, they forced themselves to think only of the love they held for the two teenagers.  
  
Harry and Draco gradually pulled out of the other's mind to the most incredible feeling of being cocooned in love and caring. They opened their eyed and were immediately swept into a group hug.  
  
"Harry, don't you EVER do that to us again," Lily sobbed quietly, the damn holding her tears at bay finally bursting. "We were so scared!"  
  
"Why are you having nightmares?" James asked, confused.  
  
"I don't know!" Harry snapped, miserably resting his head in his hands. "I just don't know."  
  
"You're not playing in the semifinals," Draco snapped. "You're not playing until we can figure out what's wrong with you."  
  
"WHAT??" Harry yelled  
  
The four of them stared at him. "We're not letting you play. Your health is much more important than Quidditch."  
  
"But it's not Quidditch I'm worried about!!" Harry yelled. "I don't know what it is, but it's not that!!"  
  
"That's not good enough. I don't want you having a breakdown!" Draco snapped.  
  
"I'm gonna have these nightmares anyway! Why are you punishing me for something I can't help!!?"  
  
With a jerk, they came back to the real world. Harry glared at the four of them and crossed his arms. "You are being unreasonable," he muttered.  
  
  
  
The morning of the game, Harry had to beg and plead for almost an hour for Draco, Severus, Lily and James to let him play. They were still arguing when they went to breakfast two hours before the game started.  
  
"Come on!!! I'm not stressing about the game!!! It's something else!" Harry insisted for the millionth time in four days. "I just- just don't know what it is!"  
  
Draco glared at him. "You've had nightmares every night for a week. You look like hell, and you're stumbling from fatigue. There's no way I'm letting you get on a broom."  
  
Madam Hooch walked over to them. "Did I hear you correctly? Did you, Mister Malfoy, just tell your co-captain that he can't play? On whose authority?" she snapped sternly.  
  
Lily glared at her. "He's not playing. He's so tired he can barely see straight and he's had nightmares every night for the past week. He's on the verge of a breakdown."  
  
Harry glared at them. "Madam Hooch, I'm fine. I've dealt with worse and come out all right. They don't realize that."  
  
"But-" James snapped.  
  
"But nothing!!!" Harry exploded. "I had visions and nightmares every night during fourth and fifth year! I was frigging tied into Voldemort's HEAD!!! I played Quidditch and had a full school schedule and saved the school every year and I WAS FINE!!! I'M PLAYING!!!" He stood in front of them, eerily silent, ribbons of green whipping around him, daring them to say different. They watched as the dark circles under his eyes lightened and disappeared, and the tightness around his eyes relaxed. Within minutes, he looked perfectly healthy.  
  
"Take off the Glamours," Draco snapped.  
  
"I'm not wearing any," Harry snapped back, pissed.  
  
"Bull shit," Lily snapped. "You don't suddenly look one hundred percent better after shitty sleeping for a week."  
  
"Actually," Alanna said, standing right behind them, "you do. Sorry, we should have explained that but we didn't think it was necessary, in light of having everything else to teach. When you use your magic, it refreshes you to a certain point. You can't run forever on it, but we've gone almost three weeks without rest before collapsing."  
  
Draco glared at her. "We're trying to make a case that his health is more important than Quidditch," he snarled.  
  
"BUT I'M FINE!!!" Harry yelled, rolling his eyes in frustration.  
  
Alanna stared back and forth. "He looks fine to me," she said, looking him up and down with a critical eye.  
  
"He's had NIGHTMARES for the last seven days straight!"  
  
Alanna really looked at Harry then. "What about?"  
  
"Vernon, mostly," Draco said. "Oh, and this weird one where Vernon turned into Clautius and-"  
  
"And he had broken through the wards and was coming for me, but I wasn't me..." Harry finished.  
  
Severus paled and his eyes turned silver. "Laurel says he hasn't yet," he mumbled distractedly. "Oh, and she says hi to everyone, and I quote, get me outta here! Any time people... or something like that. OUCH! What was that for??" He rubbed his temples.  
  
_ Go Laurel,_ Draco snickered.  
  
_Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week, or until someone gets me out of here!_ Laurel called back. _And let the kid play! He's earned it!  
  
Thank you! Someone agrees with me!_ Harry snapped mentally, his face a thunderstorm of anger and aggravation.  
  
"Fine!" Draco snapped. He rounded on Harry, scowling. "I'll pull you from the game if you so much as sneeze!"  
  
"Yes, Mother," Harry simpered and Draco's scowl deepened.  
  
  
  
The Hogwarts team Apparated to the British International Quidditch Stadium, chattering excitedly. Everyone chattered, that is, except for the two captains. They were glaring at each other, nonverbally voicing their displeasure.  
  
Ginny walked up to the both of them, and without warning, smacked both of them upside the head. "Knock it off, you dumbasses," she growled. "We don't stand a chance if you two won't cooperate."  
  
"She's right," Harry said softly. "Draco, stop worrying about me. I'm fine."  
  
"Then why the hell do I feel so damn uneasy?" Draco snapped.  
  
"Its part of it," Harry said. "You're feeling my unease. Something is going to happen. Something big."  
  
Draco shuddered. "How can you stand it?"  
  
"I felt it right before I'd have a vision or before something big would happen. I'm used to it, I guess." They walked into the locker rooms, Draco shaking his head.  
  
"So something is going to happen."  
  
"Yeah, and it's definitely something big. I've felt this way for almost three weeks now."  
  
"What?" Ron and Emily asked. "What's going on?"  
  
"Harry's getting a weird premonition thing," Draco said, unable to think of a better way to describe it.  
  
"Cool! You're going all crazy Trelawney on us!" Emily said with a smirk. Harry glared at her half heartedly.  
  
"Come on, let's just play," he grumbled, his head starting to buzz. "Whatever is going to happen will happen soon," he said worriedly.  
  
Draco grabbed his arm. "I can feel that too, dolt. Are you sure you can play?"  
  
"If I can't play, you can't play," Harry said with a twisted grin. "It's affecting you too." Draco looked mutinous at first, and then resigned.  
  
"Fine," Draco spat. Madam Hooch stuck her head into the locker room.  
  
"It's time." Everyone nodded and shot out the door on their brooms and circled around the pitch to the cheers of their classmates. They took their places opposite a team in cherry red and banana yellow uniforms. Draco and Harry landed in front of the Referee, an ancient man in the traditional black and white.  
  
"Captains, shake hands," he wheezed and checked the time on an impossibly large pocket watch he had pulled from the front of his Referees robes. The two Hogwarts captains eagerly shook the other captain's hand and shot back into the air, awaiting the release of the Snitch, Bludgers and Quaffle. Several long minutes passed, in which the Referee just stared at the ground, his tiny, wrinkled body slightly swaying on the broom.  
  
"Is he dead?" The Ontario captain asked in a loud whisper. Ginny flew forward and poked the wizard gently.  
  
"Umm, Excuse me sir, are you all right?" she asked in a loud voice.  
  
The wizard jerked and muttered about cookies. She giggled. "He's asleep!" She giggled and 'accidentally' set the tip of his broom on fire. The older wizard awoke with a screech, flapping his arms and looking like a striped pigeon. Draco snickered and put out the flames with a discrete wave of his hand.  
  
The Ontario team watched, sides splitting from laughter, as the Referee almost fell off his broom, trying to figure out where the fire went. He finally straightened up and, with insane mutterings under his breath, released the Snitch and Bludgers. With one last fearful look at the tail of his broom he tossed the Quaffle into the air. Draco swooped in and took control, Harry and Ginny in formation behind him.  
  
_ Ready?_ Draco asked and shot straight up, Harry swerving to the right and Ginny to the left. Five passes and countless hair-raising twists and turns later, the score was 10 to 0, Hogwarts.  
  
Twenty minutes later, the score was 100 to 70. Hogwarts was in the lead, though not for lack of skill on Ontario's part. Their Beaters slammed the Bludgers around as if they were pebbles, and they had deadly accuracy. Harry had taken a Bludger to the ribs four times, and Draco's lip was bruised and bleeding where one had grazed his face. Ginny had quickly healed a strained wrist, and Blaise and Seamus were both sporting bruises on various parts of their bodies. Emily was the only one who had sustained no injuries, and that was only because none had been sent her way.  
  
Over head, James watched for the Snitch, occasionally dodging the Bludgers as they came his way._ Where is that bloody ball?_ he muttered to himself, keeping his eyes peeled for the fluttering gold ball. A flash of gold appeared next to the commentator's box. _There._ He dove, the tiny golden ball firmly in his sight, when something slammed into him, almost knocking him from his broom._ What the..._ Cherry red robes with banana yellow accents flashed in front of him. _You little shit!!! I'll kick your ass!_ he snapped, shooting underneath the other seeker and reached one hand up, punching the other's broom with all his strength. The broom wavered and the other seeker suddenly veered left, almost falling into the stands.  
  
James looked around for the snitch only to find that it had vanished. _Fuck!  
_  
Thirty minutes later, the score was 210 to 200, Ontario. Ginny knocked the Quaffle through the leftmost hoop, evening the score to 210- 210. _Dad, do you see the Snitch yet?_ Harry asked, looking around himself quickly before handing off the Quaffle to Draco.  
  
_I had it a minute ago and then I lost it. Damn thing. I swear it can go invisible._ Harry circled around, taking back the Quaffle and slamming into the goal.  
  
_James- SNITCH!!_ Draco yelled, shoving the image of it before James's eyes. James took off like a rocket, the other Seeker following close behind. He quickly lashed out with a closed fist, slamming the other broom into the wall and shot forward, finally seeing the snitch himself. It hovered less than six inches on the other side of the center hoop. Ignoring the gasps coming from the rest of his team, he dove through the hoop, the Snitch fitting neatly into his hand. The play halted as James flew into the middle of the Pitch, holding the Snitch triumphantly in one hand, grinning like a madman.  
  
_WE WON!!!!!_ Emily yelled. Rounding on James, she screamed, _YOU IDIOT!!!! YOU COULLD HAVE BEEN KILLED!!!! I'M TELLING YOUR WIFE!!!!  
  
Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit,_ James mumbled as Emily streaked to the stands.  
  
_ JAMES GARETH POTTER!!!!!_ Lily shrieked, storming onto the field as fast as her six month pregnant body would allow. James almost turned tail and flew away as fast as he could, but... Lily would hunt him down and it would be twice as bad, if not worse.  
  
_Yes, Dear?_ he asked weakly, his face the color of cottage cheese. _Oh, I'm in for it,_ he moaned weakly.  
  
_ Damn straight. Home. Now._ she spat, turning on a heel and Apparating.  
  
Harry met his father's eyes._ Ummm,_ Harry didn't know what to say.  
  
James Apparated.  
  
Severus watched the drama on the Quidditch Pitch with a smirk. _Hey, Love, you'd never pull a stupid stunt like that just for a game, would you?_ Laurel asked softly. I_ mean, it was really, really cool and all but you wouldn't risk your life for a silly game, would you?  
  
I haven't played Quidditch in almost twenty five years, Laurel. I'm not going to do stupid things like Potter over there.  
  
That's good to know- oh my god... _Laurel suddenly sounded panicked. _Sev? You know how I said getting me out of here would be a good thing? Could you come after me like, now??  
  
What's wrong??_ he snapped, feeling absolute terror radiate through their bond.  
  
_He's breaking through..._ she whimpered.  
  
_LAUREL!_ he yelled as pure Evil flooded into their minds.  
  
_ Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God,_ she babbled over and over._ Severus, he's through! Oh God, please don't hurt me, please don't hurt me, please don't let him hurt me.  
_  
The last thing he felt before the Evil snapped their link like a piece of thread, was Laurel retreating into her mind again as the Evil leached her power out of her body. _LAUREL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_ he screamed into emptiness over and over, falling to the ground and curling into the fetal position.  
  
Lily and Lames immediately Apparated back, upon hearing his heart rending screams. Harry, Draco, Alanna and Xander moved to his side, linking, riding on Draco and Harry's awesome powers that they were only just beginning to understand. They ripped into Clautius's realm without the aid of any potions, searching. They found nothing, no trace of her mind. _It's no good,_ Severus gasped. _She's retreated into herself.  
  
_ The felt another mind try to reach them from inside Clautius's realm._ Sirius._ Harry focused on Sirius.  
  
_ They have her,_ Sirius panted mentally, _and I tried to stop them. Help, oh noooo, not the Dementor Lords, nooooo,_ he moaned before the link was terminated.  
  
Alanna and Xander disengaged from the link and sent out the call. It was time. The attack would commence at dusk.  
  


A/N: Well, that's the chapter, people. For my other fics, Jungle Law, the sequel to The Lesser of Two Evils, should start in about two weeks to a month, depending on when my inspiration comes. I already have six pages, but the same rules apply. Twenty pages to each update. Hopefully, I'll have finished this fic or be nearing the end by then, as well as Just Like You. To all my reviewers, thank you. It's begun, people!! Ain't it cool!  
  
B/N: Did anyone happen to notice that in the fourth paragraph of the thirteenth page, Draco screams, "It's four o'clock in the fucking morning!"? Not that Laura would have noticed this, but that just so happens to be my favorite line from the song "The Taste of Ink" by The Used. Shibby- sweet song. And shibby-sweet story. I don't know if anybody has reserved the rights to use the word "shibby" but I first saw it in the comic, Boy Meets Boy by: ..... um...... cough....... uh.... Psst! Laura! Who's the author of 'Boy Meets Boy'?..... (crickets chirp merrily in the background).... Laura! Damnit- Laura! Never mind, as she is currently buried nose-deep in a Stephen King novel... joy. But I got that word from that place and I give credit to the author person. I don't know if it is their or not but I would rather be on the safe side. Self-preservation and all that shit. But, like Laura said, "It's begun," and I will say "Yes! The beginning of the End!" (Cue creepy music coming from the back) ..... (Or some really awesome heavy metal, preferably Marilyn Manson) Yup, 'sall good! Byeness for now!


	32. Chapter 32

A/N: I'm sorry to the one person who thought I was dragging this out. I was trying to be creative. Some people! (Sniffs dramatically) Just kidding. I'm glad you like it and want me to update as soon as possible. Thank you everyone else who reviewed. You know, I've realized that the reviews are very important to me. I don't live for them, but they make typing so much easier. Oh well, whatever, here's the next chapter. Enjoy.  
  
Chapter 32  
  
Harry, Alanna, Severus, Xander, James and Draco stood in the basement of the Department of Mysteries, their faces set. They dressed similarly and for war- from the comfortable yet durable black canvas fatigue pants and lightweight jackets, comfortable tee shirts underneath, their weapons strapped to their bodies either across their backs or, in the case of James and his fourteen knives, all around his body, standard weighted throwing daggers at the wrists, and rugged, durable yet comfortable black knee high boots. Ginny stood apart from them, weaving complex magic patters and spells, warding their clothing, weapons of choice, and skin against detection and making them invisible to the naked eye. She wove in strengthening spells, anti fatigue spell, speed spells and protection charms as well. Harry stiffened as he felt the slightly foreign, yet familiar feel of his sister's demonic magic bind around him. _No offense, Gin, but have I ever told you how weird your magic feels?_ Harry asked, feeling as if his skin had a mildly itchy rash all over it.  
  
_Yours feels the same to me, bro,_ Ginny shot back good naturedly. _Hold still. I'm almost done.  
_  
"The armies are in place, right?" Draco asked, scratching his lower back.  
  
"Yes," Alanna said softly. She stared Gaila and Olivia straight in the eyes. "As soon as we go, one of you has to monitor our progress, you know. How are you going to do that?"  
  
Olivia grinned. "Ginny took care of that. You'll get visitors," she said mysteriously.  
  
"Besides, I'll have my head through the portal and stay there!" Gabby chirped. She demonstrated, sticking her head through the Veil and pulled back out. "Just like that!"  
  
"You better," Alanna said.  
  
Harry shivered. "I still have a bad feeling," he muttered. Draco squeezed his hand and stared, bemused as Harry's whole hand disappeared slowly, the rest of him following.  
  
"This is so weird," Draco said softly.  
  
A minute later, Ginny stepped forward, the spells done. She kissed empty air, connecting with Harry's completely invisible cheek. "Good Luck." Moving slightly to the left, she kissed Draco's cheek, wishing him well as well. She squeezed Severus's hand, hugging him tightly, hugged James, and shyly hugged and kissed Alanna and Xander. "Godspeed," she whispered as they stepped through the portal.  
  
They appeared on the other side to an obviously different world. The sky was a light red, with angry, bruise colored clouds in the distance. The trees looked bluish in the distance, and the grass was a mustard yellow color under their feet.  
  
Gaila poked her head through, a disembodied head floating in a small rip in space. "Good luck," she called softly.  
  
"Thanks," Harry said in reply, kissing her cheek.  
  
Alanna, James and Xander linked completely, feeling their magic, disguised under the demon spells, charge through them, adding to their hyperawareness and energy. Draco, Harry and Severus did the same, the awesome powers Draco and Harry harnessed on a daily basis surging through Severus unexpectedly, almost sending him reeling, drunk on power.  
  
_Wow... how do you put up with this much power all the time?_ he asked giddily.  
  
_Focus!_ Draco snapped.  
  
Severus snapped out of it and shook his head._ Right. Focus._ Gaila giggled in their heads as they took off.  
  
The six of them started running, loping over already familiar terrain. _They really mapped these out well,_ Draco said in wonder, passing trees in exactly the same positions that they had been in the Forbidden Forest.  
  
_Don't get complacent,_ Harry warned. _Keep your eyes peeled for demons. We take them out._ He pulled out his short crescent swords and kept them in hand, just in case.  
  
_ Spoken like a true leader,_ Alanna smirked from somewhere to their left.  
  
_Shut it. Let's get in and get out. Every second we waste is one more that they're being hurt,_ snapped Harry, sobering everyone immediately.  
  
_ Right, let's move,_ James growled, picking up the pace. They ran over the next hill crest and almost ran head on into a demon patrol camped on the other side. Twenty demons were sitting around a magical camp fire, roasting whole animals over a spit. Six of them were the smaller, humanoid Fire demons, and the rest were the enormous demons they had faced over the summer in Diagon Alley.  
  
Acting instinctively, they slaughtered the entire camp, sweeping in like Death's Angels. The fourteen demons didn't even have time to react as, in less than a minute, their throats were slashed wide open, ebony blood spurting from arteries and veins.  
  
The six demigods moved on, barely pausing to wipe the blood from their blades before they were running again, aware that every second lost was another second that the people they loved spent in pain.  
  
Ten minutes later, they ran into the outskirts of a forest and quickly scaled the trees, resting briefly in the lower branches before moving higher and across the forest. Five minutes into the forest, they came across their second band of demons, of varying size and type.  
  
_Who wants to do the honors?_ Draco asked curiously from his vantage point ten feet above the ground. The head of the demon standing next to his branch came nearly to his thigh.  
  
_ I have an idea. Unlace your boots halfway and knot the four laces together around the tree branch,_ Harry instructed, tying his together below the branch. Moving as quietly as possible, he swung himself upside down, right over the demon sitting below him. With practiced ease, he slit the demon's throat and swung back up, untied the laces and slid further up into the trees. Everyone followed his example, and within seconds there were six dead demons on the ground, the other seven completely clueless and panicking about what had just happened. Harry leapt lightly to the ground, taking out two more while they milled around. Severus, getting into the swing of things, threw his daggers, impaling two into tree trunks before he dispatched them without remorse and retrieved his daggers.  
  
Alanna and Xander took out the rest and stared up at the tree where Draco was still sitting. _So, Your Highness, would you care to join us mortals down here?_ Alanna mocked slightly.  
  
_ Nope, you look like you're doing fine,_ Draco said cheerfully, sliding to the ground with a much muffled thump._ Hang on, I still have to lace up my boots._ Everyone else sat down and did the same, flushing slightly as they had forgotten and would have fallen flat on their faces if they had tried to move.  
  
_We have ten miles, two of which are covered already, and in the right direction. We'll be there in less than two hours if we keep going the way we are,_ Harry mused.  
  
_Well what are we waiting for?_ James remarked.  
  
_Let's go then._ They took off running again, covering several miles without incident. They finally reached the crest of the last hill they had to cover and looked down. There, in the distance, were twelve tiny portals, each leading to a different world. However, there was a sea of red, black and various shades of gray in front of them.  
  
_What happened there? Did they have a battle?_ Harry wondered.  
  
_Never mind that, It's just like in the Forest,_ Draco thought with relief. _Are they in the same order?  
  
We'll see when we get there,_ Alanna rolled her eyes. They jogged down the hill, covering the remaining miles as if they were nothing.  
  
_These charms really help!_ Severus exclaimed._ I don't even feel winded!  
_  
They stopped short a mile before the portals. _Oh shit,_ James moaned softly. _What do we do now?_ As far as they could see, a demon army had been assembled, blocking the way for miles around the portals.  
  
_Where did they come from?_ Xander asked incredulously. _There must be millions!  
  
_ _Well, Clautius gave them reproductive systems, obviously, so do I really need to explain the birds and the bees to you? _Severus asked sarcastically.  
  
Xander groaned and punched where he thought Severus's arm would be. He missed and fell over, cursing vividly in his mind.  
  
_Dork,_ Alanna teased gently.  
  
_ I have an idea, _Harry said quietly, _but it'll expose us for a second.  
  
They already know we're here,_ Severus said dourly. _I don't see why we're trying to be quiet still.  
  
Because Clautius could kill all of us,_ Alanna snapped.  
  
_ What's the idea?_ Xander asked.  
  
_ We use Ginny's residual magic and the magic ties she gave us when we bonded to lift us over the encampment, and then we blow the shit out of the demons with our super godly powers,_ Harry said with a smirk.  
  
_Are you nuts??_ James snapped.  
  
_Not really,_ Draco defended him. _Do you really want to have to deal with them when you get back with a probably insane Black?  
  
No, but you're going to blow them up! They'll know where we are!_ Xander yelled.  
  
_And no one will know where we are once we stop using our magic, _Harry said quite reasonably.  
  
_It's suicide,_ Alanna mused. _I like it. I might just work.  
  
I hope you two know what you're doing,_ Severus warned.  
  
_Uncle Sev, we're going to wind up fighting Clautius anyway. What difference does now or a year from now really make?_ Draco asked privately.  
  
_A year of training_, he grumped. _And, my soul mate's life.  
  
We're going to get her out of there,_ Draco promised him.  
  
_ Let's do this,_ Alanna said with enthusiasm.

Harry and Draco, using the spells woven around their bodies, lifted the magic gently, infusing it with their own. They felt the demon blood in them, courtesy of their sister, come rushing forth._ Scratch that, we can disguise our magic!_ Harry gasped, letting his magic transform. He and Draco lifted them high into the air, safely over the forces on the ground. _They don't even have wards, _Harry muttered in disgust.  
  
They landed right next to the portals, directly in the center of the massive army. Alanna, James and Xander, read over the inscriptions and ducked through the fourth portal from the left, which led to the Dementor world. Draco shoved Severus through the one next to it, Clautius's portal. _Ready?_ Draco asked Harry once Alanna, Xander, James and Severus were safely inside. They quickly expanded their powers, turning them into a destructive force reminiscent of a nuclear explosion slash earthquake slash act of God. Flesh was ripped from bones; bones were incinerated, all in an instant. Remarkably, the portals were still standing, even though nothing remained of the army except for dust blowing in the wind.  
  
Harry and Draco quickly put their powers under wraps and slid through the correct portal, landing on the other side with a thump. They stood up and looked around, flabbergasted. _What happened?_ Harry asked. _Who blew the place to hell?_ The lush vegetation had been incinerated for at least one hundred yards, leaving a charred tract six feet wide the entire distance.  
  
_ That would be you two,_ Severus replied, walking out from behind his hiding place behind the portal over thirty yards away. _Your little explosion came through the portal after me. I never knew I could move that fast.  
  
_ Draco muffled a snicker._ It isn't funny! _Severus protested._ I thought I was going to die!  
  
Hello, our magic is joined,_ Harry said sarcastically. _You couldn't be harmed by anything we do.  
  
I know that now! It was amazing! One minute I was running and the next I was over here!_ Severus babbled, his mouth on overdrive.  
  
_Uncle Sev. Chill. We've got to go._ Draco led the way down the mountain and into the still sizzling rainforest.  
  
_ Right._ they moved quickly, taking to the trees like they had done in practice.  
  
Far in the distance, evil radiated from a black spot in the sea of green. Harry shuddered involuntarily and rubbed his arms. Draco's eyes went out of focus for a second, and he shivered. Severus just stared at the black spot. _That place really doesn't feel right,_ he muttered.  
  
  
  
Alanna, James and Xander found themselves on a desolate, black, rocky world, the sky a dismal gray. The quickly ducked around the back of the portal, feeling Harry and Draco power up. _This is going to be big,_ Xander warned.  
  
_They feel like demons,_ James said slightly stupidly, his mind still processing the amount of power Harry and Draco possessed.  
  
_Well, duh, they are blood bound to a demoness, a powerful one at that,_ Alanna said slowly. _Don't you get it? You KNEW they were the most powerful out of any of us, and they took Ginny as their sister. That changes their magic considerably.  
  
I'm not stupid, it's just different to know it and then actually see it. They- OH MY GOD!!!!! _He screamed as a jet of white hot flame roared out of the portal. It didn't do any damage, simply because there wasn't anything TO damage.  
  
Once the flames subsided, Alanna pulled the two of them to their feet._ Come on,_ she insisted. _We have a heroic fool to save.  
  
Sirius is not a fool!_ James protested.  
  
_He fell through the VEIL_, Alanna reminded him.  
  
_Yeah, there's that,_ James admitted._ Come on, let's run._ They took off at a dead run, looking for the Dementor Lords and Sirius.  
  
They didn't have far to go before they found them. Over a slight rise in the otherwise level ground, they came to a skidding halt. _Oh my God,_ I'm gonna be sick, Alanna gagged, the smell of putrid, rotting, burning flesh clouding the air. James and Xander gagged, unable to speak or think coherently.  
  
They staggered another ten feet and the ground ended abruptly. They peered over the edge and Alanna did throw up, running away from the edge so she wouldn't be detected.  
  
_ You didn't need to run. It's not like anyone would hear you above the screams,_ Xander said, joining her in throwing up violently. James nodded, feeling the bile rise in the back of his throat. He fell to his knees, the world spinning around him. Almost a thousand meters below, gray cloaks prowled around screaming, writhing people chained spread eagled to shiny black and gray rocks. Rivers of orange and red fiery lava ran in between each outcropping, the Dementors gliding over them with ease. They could see something enormous rising from the center of the pit, almost like a giant statue. They watched, terrified as the statue moved, raising hideous skeletal arms high into the sky.  
  
_We have to go down there,_ James said grimly once the nausea passed and he could move without feeling dizzy. We have to find him and we need to end their suffering. All of their suffering. He stood up resolutely and started to climb down, Alanna and Xander following him.  
  
  
  
_All right, _Harry though from his position as point. _The castle is almost five miles away. We're half way there, let's keep it up._ They froze as they heard a slight rustling in the vegetation, drawing their blades in anticipation of a battle.  
  
A lone ebony demon the size of a three year old child skipped through the undergrowth, making a series of musical hisses and growls and flapping its shiny bat wings playfully. It stopped and sniffed the air, looking straight at Draco with what could only be an enormous grin on its face and joy in its enormous purple eyes.  
  
_ Ummm, Harry, what do I do? It's too cute to kill!!_ Draco protested, staring at it with bemusement. Abruptly it launched itself into the air and landed next to the blond demigod, snuggling against Draco's side and purring._ HARRY!!! HELP!!!! _He screeched, panicking.  
  
_Stay still,_ Harry ordered. Abruptly, Harry jumped and landed on Draco's branch, slightly shaking the tree. He picked up the miniature demon and yelped in shock as it turned and snuggled into his arms, it's purring only getting louder. They dropped to the ground, still cradling the impossibly cute demon with the utmost care.  
  
Severus held his arms out, and the demon flew into them, snuggling into his chest. _Well, well, little one, can we assume you don't mean us any harm?_ the mini-demon purred and nodded.  
  
_Ginny Mistress sent me to make sure you are all right,_ a hissing voice resonated in their heads. Severus almost dropped the demon in shock.  
  
_You- you- you talk???_ he asked incredulously.  
  
_Yes, Severus, Draco, Harry, family of my Mistress. I talk quite well. And there aren't any demons until the Castle, but there you have worse than demons to deal with. Your prize is in the south tower at the very top. I must go and talk with my demon kin and make sure that they are helping James, Alanna and Xander, friends of my Mistress._ The little demon quickly dropped out of Severus's arms and disappeared into the undergrowth.  
  
_Well, that was strange,_ Harry said, staring into the bush where the mini demon had disappeared.  
  
_ I concur. Let's go. Just in case it's not friendly and was lying to us, keep your eyes peeled,_ Severus said as they took to the trees again, making good time.  
  
The demon stepped back into the spot they had just left. _Mistress Gaila?_ it called softly.  
  
_ Yes? What do you have to report, little one?  
_  
_ They are safe, unharmed, and almost to the castle.  
  
Do they require help? _Gaila asked worriedly.  
  
_Not yet.  
  
Good. Keep watch and report if you see anything or if fifteen minutes have passed.  
  
Yes, Mistress._ It followed them at a safe distance, watching their progress.  
  
Less than an hour later, they stopped at the edge of the trees, fifty yards from an enormous ebony castle. Evil radiated off of it in waves and no plants whatsoever would grow in the ground around it. Harry sagged to his knees, his face a mask of pain. _Stop it, stop it Sweet Merlin I can't take it the evil and the pain and the whole place is screaming and screaming he's evil and it hurts the ground and it hurts the trees and the animals, that's why nothing grows because he's poison, pure poison and I'm not going to scream I'm not going to scream,_ he panted, trying to fight the urge to shriek at the top of his lungs.  
  
Beside him, Draco was fighting the urge to curl up into a little ball and stay like that forever. He fell to his hands and knees, murmuring over and over,_We might as well give up because we're never going to win, he's evil and too strong and we can't fight that, we'll never win, no I'm not going to give up, just give up curl up into a ball and never look up again because we're not going to win, no I'm not going to, no I'm not, NO I'M NOT.  
_  
Only Severus appeared to be visibly unaffected, his years of spying allowing him to remain stoic on the outside. On the inside, however, he was trying not to pass out. _This is horrifying, this is bad, bad, bad, and I don't ever want to go in there but Laurel, oh my God I don't want to go in there, you have to for Laurel, go get Laurel, but it's horrifying and bad and I don't want to go it's evil, it's evil, it's evil. Evil has my soul mate and I have to go in after her! Get moving, Severus!  
_  
"Get moving, Severus," he murmured, his voice barely audible to the human ear. But it was enough. With a full body shudder, he sneered and walked over to his still hysterical Godson and nephew. _Draco! Harry!_ he snapped. _Pull yourself together!  
  
_ They staggered to their feet, holding their temples. _Oh, my head, _Harry and Draco moaned in unison. They touched each other's temples, their hands glowing briefly. A few seconds later, they straightened up resolutely, still wincing with every step.  
  
_Let's go, we have to find Laurel,_ Severus said impatiently. They stumbled forward, searching for an entrance.  
  
  
  
James led the way down the rocky, crumbling cliffs, cursing vividly in his mind every time he caught an ankle or wrist in the sharp crags of the immensely strong obsidian like stone. By the time the three of them had managed to slide, climb, trip and fall down the steep incline, Alanna and Xander had joined him in the litany of profanity.  
  
Unknown to the three of them, another tiny demon, identical tot he one Severus, Harry and Draco had seen, was watching them from the cliff they had just descended. _Are they all right?_ Gaila asked the mini demon.  
  
_Yes, Mistress Gaila,_ the demon said softly. _They are in the Dementor Pits. The Dementors don't seem to be affecting them.  
  
Good. Keep watching and reporting every fifteen minutes. _The demon went back to watching them closely.  
  
_ OW Mother Fucking two balled bitch!!!!_ Alanna snapped, landing flat on her face after tripping and barking her shins on a low outcropping.  
  
_ Lana are you all right?_ Xander asked while helping her to her feet. James stopped and turned around.  
  
_ Yes, but, hang on I'm bleeding._ She tore the hem off of her tee shirt and wrapped it around her left shin, trying to stem the blood flow. Xander quickly helped her bandage the other leg as well and they stood back up, staring past James's shoulder with revulsion, terror and agony. _Oh my God, Mother,_ Alanna murmured. Xander was suddenly nauseous again.  
  
James turned back around and a lone tear trickled down his face. _That's what Sirius is going through, we have to find him,_ he muttered resolutely as he strode around the poor, faceless, nameless, emaciated scarecrow that hung, shackled, from the rocky outcropping. Two Dementors hovered around him, feeding ravenously on his agonized screams.  
  
"PLEASE GOD HELP ME!!!" shrieked the nameless person. He continued screaming continuously, pleading for death, for mercy, for the torment to be over. Alanna and Xander stiffened and looked around surreptitiously. Other than the two Dementors hovering over the person, none were around.  
  
Xander caught her arm. _Lana, you can't! he hissed.  
_  
She wrenched her arm away. _I can and I will. He's one of ours, one of the Lost ones. Clautius stole them and we can't just leave all of them here. We have to do something. We're their Gods, their protectors. I want to give him peace._ An unearthly glow surrounded her still invisible body, until she looked like a shimmering orb.  
  
_ Lana, you're giving us away!!!_ Xander screamed as the Dementors stopped their feeding and turned on her hungrily.  
  
_James, Xander, you need to go find Sirius. Don't worry about caution any more. We have to destroy this place. It's an abomination and I refuse to let my people become these perversions._ Alanna glided forward, the glow expanding. The Dementors paused, almost uncertain. _That's right, come to Mama. I won't hurt you... much,_ she growled.  
  
James and Xander stood there, wracked with indecision. _Do we help her?_ James asked quietly.  
  
_ Xander, James, GO!_ she snapped over her shoulder.  
  
They made up their minds immediately. James focused on Sirius's mind and found it almost immediately. He was the only one who had any degree of sanity left. _Sirius, hang on. We're here. Where are you? I need to see through your eyes.  
  
Jamie? Is that you?_ Sirius asked, half delirious.  
  
_Yeah, it's me. Where are you? Open your eyes._ James focused and felt Sirius's eyes open. He looked through them, trying to focus on familiar landmarks. There weren't any.  
  
_ Xander, I can't pinpoint him,_ he said worriedly.  
  
_Here._ They linked together, and Apparated, using Sirius as the destination. They appeared next to a bruised and bloody Sirius Black.  
  
_Lana, we found him,_ Xander said, relieved.  
  
_ Umm, Xander, what's that?_ James asked, suddenly terrified. He stared behind Xander, his eyes wide and sheen of sour sweat covering his face.  
  
Xander turned around slowly, dreading what he would see. He stared up at an enormous black shadow with just a gaping, red mouth where the face should have been.  
  
_ It can see us,_ James said softly. _It doesn't have any eyes but it can see us. What is it?  
  
A Dementor Lord,_ Xander groaned. He powered up, scarlet beams shooting from his hands. _Well, there goes our cover.  
  
_  
  
The Demon watched, shaking its tiny head. _This is not good. Alanna has broken cover and is destroying the Dementor world,_ it sent Gaila.  
  
_WHAT???_ She screeched.  
  
_ Yes, Mistress. She can't leave the Lost ones there.  
  
Oh shit. Keep watch, I have to leave for a minute.  
_  
Gaila pulled her head out of the portal. "Send in the troops," she ordered tersely. Olivia nodded, her face white, as she contacted the leaders of the 2800 soldiers they had ready to fight.  
  
_ It's time. GO!!!_ She called, biting her lip almost bloody from worry. Gaila started pulling on a beaded bracelet on her wrist. She, Ginny, Lily and Olivia quickly strode through the Veil, the Troops appearing from their own Portals over a half mile diameter circle.  
  
"ALANNA IS CURRENTLY DESTROYING THE DEMENTOR WORLD!!!!" she said, her voice magically enhanced. "WE ARE TO PROVIDE DIVERSIONS, AND GET THE SIX OF THEM OUT SAFELY AND THEN LEAVE, TAKING AS MANY PORTALS TO OUR DIMENSION WITH US AS POSSIBLE!!! ALL SPIES ARE RECALLED!!! WE ARE NOT TO COME HERE AGAIN BEFORE THE FINAL BATTLE!!!!"  
  
The companies of soldiers split into platoons of twenty with a commander of each. Lily and Ginny Apparated first and sent back an all clear. The platoons quickly began Apparating to the 12 portals. Gaila and Olivia, both of equal power and second most powerful of the Demigoddesses and Demigods, waited until everyone had left before Apparating as well.  
  
  
  
Alanna glided over to the rocky outcroppings, her face set in a savage grin. "Oh, come to Mommy," she crooned aloud. The Dementors edges away from her and she sent out several hundred Patronuses." Kill the perversions, my loves," she hissed, raising her arms with glee. Silver phoenixes swooped over the fleeing grey robed monstrosities, shredding them from behind.  
  
_ James, Xander, duck,_ she thought savagely. _Protect Sirius.  
  
Alanna, we have a problem!!!_ James yelled. _There's a Dementor Lord!!!!  
  
James, put a shield around yourself and Sirius. Xander, blow him to Hell- wait, we're all ready there! _She felt James throw up the strongest shield he had ever created. She drew as much power as she could muster, and felt Xander do the same. They exploded, the world glowing white before being obliterated under their feet. A scream of agony slammed through her mind, sending Alanna reeling. _What the hell??  
  
That was the Dementor Lord,_ Xander said wryly. _We'd better Apparate.  
_  
They tried, and a wave of pure evil slammed into them, knocking them breathless. _No can do,_ Alanna thought worriedly. _James, are you still with us?  
  
We're here,_ James said faintly.  
  
_ I have them,_ Xander said, his confidence belied by the undercurrent of fear. _What do we do?_ Alanna thought for a minute and flew over.  
  
_Flying works,_ Alanna said as she merged her shields with her soul mate's. "Let's get rid of this invisibility," she said aloud softly.  
  
They blinked and were visible again. "Now what?" Sirius asked his face haggard and drawn. Blood ran from his many lacerations and abrasions.  
  
James's hand glowed a soft blue and he grasped Sirius by the shoulder firmly. Sirius's mouth opened in a silent scream as his cuts and bruises vanished. His face filled out slightly, and he collapsed tot he ground, panting. He looked up after a minute and stared at James, his eyes sparkling. "Thanks, Prongs," he gasped, stretching his arms experimentally.  
  
"Well, now what?" Xander asked quietly.  
  
"Now, we wait," Alanna said grimly. "We don't know where we are and where the Portal world is in comparison to us."  
  
"Sounds good to me," James said, sitting in midair and conjuring a soft drink. He conjured several more and passed them out to the other three. "Now if we could get cable," he muttered, conjuring a plate of hot wings and passing them around.  
  
"What's cable?" Sirius asked curiously.  
  
Alanna and Xander rolled their eyes.  
  
  
  
Harry, Draco and Severus snuck through the castle, leaving a trail of demon bodies in their wake. Harry and Draco had figured out a way to mask their energy by having it echo Clautius's personal magic signature, which let them blend in with the walls. As they rounded a corner, they heard voices up ahead and coming towards them. They flattened into a shadowy doorway and waited, ready. They watched, furious as the miniature demon that had helped them scampered into view, holding Adrian's hand.  
  
_That little bastard!!_ hissed Severus angrily.  
  
"Yes, My Lord, we have had reports of problems on the Dementor world. There were unexplained nondemon power surges just two minutes ago" the tiny demon hissed. It turned enormous red eyes up at Clautius's favorite son. They stopped in the hallway three feet from the hiding demigods.  
  
_ Wait, our demon had purple eyes,_ Harry thought in confusion.  
  
Draco narrowed his eyes._ You're right. That isn't our demon. They look identical, though. Wait- power surges??  
_  
_ Alanna, James and Xander have been discovered. We have to move quickly._ Severus clenched his fists. _Now if the Evil Brat would move out of our way...  
  
_ "Move the prisoner to the west tower," Adrian snarled. "Those bastards are here somewhere!"  
  
"Begging your pardon, My Lord, but your father is with the prisoner, at least, that's where he was headed." Adrian scratched the demon behind its scaly ears. It purred affectionately, craning its neck for more.  
  
_Screw this, we're moving,_ Harry thought savagely. He powered up and sent the energy down the hall, attracting Adrian's attention.  
  
"What the- there they are!!!" he yelled, giving chase, the demon following obediently. Harry, Draco and Severus quickly turned and sprinted in the opposite direction, heading for the south tower at full speed. They skidded through hallway after hallway, ignoring demon sentries who cowered when they heard thundering footsteps but saw nothing pass by them.  
  
After almost five minutes of winding their way through the castle's many corridors, they came to the stairs leading to the south tower. Severus, throwing caution to the wind, sprinted up the stairs. Harry and Draco shrugged and sprinted after him.  
  
They skidded into and burst through the only door at the top of the tower. A very naked Clautius whipped his head around, rearing up and exposing the limp, comotose body of Laurel lying underneath him. "What the- " he snapped. "I told you not to disturb me!"  
  
Severus saw red. With a roar, he became visible and tackled Clautius, pounding him relentlessly with his fists and feet. "MY- SOULMATE- MY- LOVE," he panted, slamming Satan across the jaw.  
  
Harry and Draco quickly grabbed the manacle around Laurel's neck and, with a thought, shattered it, their fury making their power roll off of them in roiling waves. They too became visible as they conjured a cloak and soft fleece blanket, wrapping her in it as quickly as possible. Draco turned around and stared as Clautius went sailing through the stone wall. Severus grabbed Laurel and pulled her onto his lap, cradling her as he slid into her empty mind, searching for her hiding place.  
  
"Hey, deja vu!" he said happily. "Oh shit," he muttered as Clautius floated back through the wall, clothed in the black electricity crackling around him.  
  
Harry and Draco touched each other's temples, bonding completely. _Ready?_ Harry asked teasingly.  
  
_ Prat. Let's do this._ They threw a shield around Severus and Laurel before slamming their power straight into Clautius. Clautius sailed through the air again, hitting the wall. He rebounded and threw an energy bolt at them, which they deflected.  
  
"I can't find her," Severus ground out. Abruptly, Laurel's breathing stopped. "Oh, HELL no, Laurel," he snapped, forcing almost all of his powers into her body, trying to keep her from killing herself.  
  
  
  
On the portal world, Ginny's eyes turned black. Abruptly, she transformed into her demon self. "Something is wrong," she hissed. "I'm going." She Apparated.  
  
Olivia and Gaila stared as the portals began spewing demons. "ATTACK!!!!" Gaila screamed, drawing power and obliterating scores of Clautius's creations. Where she had killed one hundred, a thousand immediately took their place.  
  
The Earth forces immediately jumped into the fray, using their heightened and honed powers to decimate the demons.  
  
Dragons swooped in, carrying the Navy SEALS on their backs, torching everything in their paths. Werewolves shifted back and forth, rending their adversaries limb from limb. Vampires feasted on spicy Demon blood, shredding throats as well as using Wandless magic. Veela transformed into harpies, fighting tooth and nail and magic. Elves, Drow and Faerie worked in unison, burying, torching, drowning and crushing the demons that dare oppose them.  
  
Through it all, Gaila, Lily and Olivia kept a light touch on everyone's minds, directing troops telepathically as well as taking out vast numbers of demon and demon spawn. The battle raged on, minute after bloody minute.  
  
  
  
Ginny appeared next to Severus and Laurel, scarlet, ebony and gold whipping around her. She screamed a raw, primal sound and blades erupted from her wrists, growing straight out of her bones. Clautius, about to throw another fire bolt, just stopped and stared.  
  
"Ginny!" Draco yelled. "Take them and get out of here!!!" she hissed and turned, staring at the door. Adrian stood in the doorway, his eyes wide.  
  
"Hello, Adrian," she purred.  
  
"My- my- soul mate," he managed to say, his mouth agape and dry as the Sahara. Nervously he licked his lips.  
  
"True, but my family comes first," she hissed, her claws dripping with poison. "I advise you to leave," she snarled.  
  
"Adrian!" Clautius commanded. "Get in here!" he gestured, his face set.  
  
Adrian stared back and forth.  
  
"Enough," Draco growled. Harry slammed a fire bolt into Adrian, sending him shooting through the walls and out of the castle. "Let's finish this, you sick fuck."  
  
Ginny snarled and swiped an envenomed claw at Clautius, snapping him from his incredulousness. She wrapped her arms around Severus and Laurel and Apparated  
  
Clautius screamed in rage and threw himself at the two demigods, furious. Harry threw him back, sending him over ten kilometers and stared at Draco, calculating. Without warning, he kissed him deeply.  
  
_ Harry, what are you doing????_ Draco screamed. _This is no time to screw around!!! We have to get out of here and we can't blow this place...oh.  
  
Exactly._ Harry kissed him again, with incredible force.  
  
_ If you leave bruises, I swear I'll-  
  
Reciprocate? _Harry teased. Draco growled. Their powers whipped around them, forming an impenetrable sphere as their clothes were discarded in their haste, their frenzy to bond.  
  
Clautius came rushing back in, terrified and furious and incredulous all at once. "They're- oh shit, they're going to- FUCK!!!!!" he screamed and threw up a personal shield, Apparating.  
  
  
  
Alanna, Xander, James and Sirius felt the wards keeping them from Apparating fall, and a building power. "Are they-" James asked, grinning.  
  
Alanna and Xander nodded, grinning. Sirius caught on.  
  
"You mean they're but, you and Lily blew up Jupiter!!!" He exclaimed, incredulous.  
  
"They're over a thousand times more powerful than Lily and I," James murmured. "They're going to blow up his realm."  
  
The four of them Apparated straight into the fighting.  
  
"Gaila!!!" Alanna yelled, Apparating to her sister's side. "WE have to leave!!!"  
  
"Why? You're safe, oh, we were so worried, and what's that I feel?" she asked, hugging Alanna and checking her over for any injuries. She frowned and healed the bruised and bleeding shins with a wave of her hand.  
  
"Harry and Draco are bonding," Alanna said with a grin.  
  
"What??" Olivia asked, coming up behind them. She shot off another lightning bolt that hit the ground in the midst of hundreds of demons, killing them all instantly.  
  
"They're blowing this place. We have to leave," Xander said urgently.  
  
TROOPS FALL BACK AND APPARATE. ALL WHO CAN APPARATE DO SO NOW!!!! GET OUT OF HERE!!! BACK THROUGH THE PORTALS!!!! Gaila snapped mentally. Immediately, the Earth forces still fighting disappeared. Dragons disappeared in midair, as well as their human passengers. Gaila gathered the wounded, almost 800 unable to Apparate on their own. She and Olivia Apparated four hundred back to the portals and shoved them through. Lily and James brought the rest and Sirius, shoving them through as well.  
  
_How do we destroy the portals?_ Lily asked Alanna.  
  
Alanna just shoved her and James back through. _Don't worry about it. Just go!!!_ They tumbled through the portal and came shooting out the other side in a heap, landing in the Department of Mysteries. They were alone, the wounded having been taken to Hogwarts and the healers.  
  
_ Harry and Draco!_ Lily snapped.  
  
_ They're fine, _Alanna promised.  
  
  
  
Ginny levitated the comatose Laurel and nearly comatose Severus into the magically expanded Infirmary. She carefully placed them on a bed, expanded the mattress to accommodate the two bodies.  
  
_Ginny, could you get me a linking potion?_ Severus asked distantly. She summoned one and handed it to him. He opened his eyes and grabbed it, downing it in one gulp. _Thanks,_ he said, closing his eyes and pressing his fingers against Laurel's temples.  
  
She smirked and Apparated straight back to the Department of Mysteries and hurtled through the Veil, shooting past Alanna, Xander, Lily and James.  
  
_ GINNY!!! WAIT!!!_ Alanna called before being cut off by the Veil.  
  
Ginny Apparated straight to Adrian's side and shielded his unconscious body. _I don't know why I'm doing this, _she muttered mentally to Adrian's sluggish mind, _but I can't let my brothers kill you.  
  
They're your brothers?_ Adrian slowly asked, his mind fuzzy.  
  
The world exploded into white. Ginny held onto Adrian tightly as they shot through the air, finally skidding to a fiery halt on a stone floor.  
  
They cautiously opened their eyes, and Ginny let her shields down millimeter by millimeter. "Ummm, where are we?" she asked softly.  
  
"No clue," Adrian said, standing up and helping her to her feet. She flushed slightly and leaned against him, feeling slightly dizzy from the effort it took to keep the shields up during the blast. She turned around and stared.  
  
Harry and Draco were sitting cross-legged on the stone floor behind them, wearing only hastily thrown on pairs of pants.  
  
"That was fun," Draco said softly, resting his head on Harry's shoulder.  
  
"Mmm, race you to the mansion?" Harry asked impishly. He turned and jumped slightly. "Ginny! Didn't see you there! Who's with you?" he asked, staring at Adrian suspiciously. "Is that him?"  
  
"Yes," Adrian said softly. "Her soul mate."  
  
"I'm Harry," Harry said conversationally with a shrug.  
  
"I'm Draco," Draco said with a grin and a wave.  
  
"You're being nice," Ginny said suspiciously. "Why?"  
  
"Well, if he's going to be in the family, we'd better start sometime," Draco said with a shrug.  
  
"Excuse me," came another voice. They all whipped around and stared at the doorway. A young man stood there, his arms crossed. Ginny recognized him slightly.  
  
"Hey, do we know you?" she asked curiously. Then it hit her. "You're Darius!!! You look different without the makeup," she said, looking him over critically.  
  
Their eyes locked and Adrian snarled. "My soul mate," he snapped, his voice trailing off. His eyes glazed and all three of them smiled softly.  
  
"What the hell?" Draco wondered.  
  
Harry stared at the three of them. "Hello? Hellooo," he called waving a hand in front of their faces. No response. "Well, this is weird," he muttered.  
  
_ALANNA!!!_ Draco yelled, incredibly creeped out by the vacant stares and silly smiles.  
  
Alanna appeared right next to him, Xander in tow. "I need you two for healing duty," she growled. She stopped short and stared. "All THREE of them are soul mates???" she snapped, her jaw brushing the floor.  
  
"WHAT???" the three guys yelled. Alanna sighed and set out to try to get Ginny's, Darius's and Adrian's attention.  
  
  
  
A/N: Well, this would have been finished yesterday, if I had decided not to go to Six Flags last night and the night before. I LUV MY SEASON PASS!!! Let's see, write another chapter or ride roller coasters till I hurl. Write another chapter or ride coasters till I hurl. Hmmm, you see the dilemma? Anyway, read and review! This chapter was so much fun to write!!!!!! Three or four more chapters left until the end of school!!!!!! And then the sequel!!!!!! WHOOO HOOO!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!! I'm high on sugar!!!!!!!!!!!!! And end of book euphoria!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyway, read and review!!!!! (I already said that, didn't I?)


	33. Chapter 33

A/N: Yes, Ginny has two soul mates... hehehe; I did tell you that she and Adrian wouldn't be able to handle the power by themselves in like chapter 12... so I fixed the problem.... Yay! Another chapter to read! Yay! Don't kill me yet, there are one or two more chapters and a sequel!!!  
  
Chapter 33  
  
"Alanna, where are we?" Harry asked sharply, confused. "This isn't the Department of Mysteries."  
  
"Right," Xander said. "This is Claudette's Palace. That," he pointed to Darius, "is her youngest son, Darius. And we are in a load of shit right now."  
  
"Too right," came another voice from the doorway. Claudette stood there, her face streaked with ash and her clothing bloody and torn. "My I ask why the Crown Prince of Hell is in my castle and why he's staring at my son like that?" she growled, her eyes blood red.  
  
Harry and Draco gulped and hid behind Alanna, who scowled at them. "You two took on Satan and won," she muttered. "Why's a vampire scary?"  
  
"That's not just a Vampire, that's Claudette and she's as scary as you are!!" Draco whimpered.  
  
"Grandmother, explain!" Claudette snapped, using the no nonsense voice she had inherited from Alanna.  
  
Alanna and Xander sighed. "We don't know what happened," Xander said, trying to placate his granddaughter. "We got here and they were like this." Claudette turned her patented Death Glare (TM) on Harry.  
  
Harry gulped. "Um, we shot out of the portal and Ginny was holding Adrian on her lap. He woke up and then Darius came in and they just started staring at each other. Alanna and Xander showed up after that."  
  
"I see. I take it then that they're mind locked?" Claudette asked, placing a hand on her son's brow. "Has anyone tried to reach them telepathically?"  
  
"I don't know what kind of effects that'll have," Alanna started to say but gave up when Harry and Draco clamped their hands on Ginny's temples.  
  
A minute later, Ginny, Adrian and Darius blinked and shook their heads as if clearing cobwebs. Ginny swayed and her brothers lowered her to the ground, holding her tightly.  
  
"Darius, honey, are you all right?" Claudette asked her son gently. Darius nodded unsteadily, his face pale.  
  
"I'm fine, not that anyone cares," Adrian grumbled. Alanna winced and Xander rubbed her back.  
  
"Could we get back to Hogwarts?" Xander asked. "We have a lot of healing to do. Adrian, I suggest you find something to do as we just blew Clautius and his realm to Hell, no pun intended."  
  
Claudette sighed and nodded. "We'll help." She turned and stared at Adrian mistrustfully. "You better be gone by the time we're back."  
  
Focusing, Harry and Draco created an Apparation zone and everyone, with the exception of Adrian, disappeared.  
  
  
  
Deep inside the ruins of Clautius's realm, five figures sat, fury radiating off of them in waves. "What the hell was that?" the human woman screamed, her cerulean eyes flashing. She ran a hand through her pale blond hair "Everything's destroyed!"  
  
"Morgan, we know! Father, what the hell happened? How could two TEENAGERS produce so much power??" a pale skinned demon with horns growing from his forehead, enormous black claws, fangs and waist length jet black hair asked.  
  
"Lucifer, Morgan, be calm," Clautius said wearily. "We aren't dead, so we can rebuild. As for the teenagers, I have something planned for them. We must find Adrian. Baal!"  
  
An enormous, skeletal figure wrapped in pitch black robes glided over. "Yessss, Father?" he hissed eerily.  
  
"Use your children on Earth to find Adrian and bring him home. Make sure he is unharmed."  
  
"As you wissssh, Father," the figure hissed and disappeared.  
  
"All right, then, Father, where do we start?" an enormous, scarlet skinned demon with curling horns and a shock of close cropped white hair asked, pacing back and forth.  
  
"Well, Beelzebub," Clautius said with a grin, "We can start by recreating our worlds, and all its members. It's too bad the Veils were destroyed, because it was a bitch to create those. Then-"  
  
Adrian and Baal appeared with a small pop. "Sorry, Father, I found myself being shot out of a Veil onto Earth without a good idea of how to return," Adrian said by way of greeting. He hugged Morgan, and sat down with a grin. "What have I missed?"  
  
"What happened?" Morgan asked, hugging her father, Adrian. "Father, where did you go?"  
  
Adrian hesitated for only a second. "I was blown out the portal into Claudette's palace. I left immediately, and Baal found me," he said, leaving out any mention of Darius and Ginny.  
  
"Well, you're safe and not in Alanna's clutches, so that's the important thing," Morgan said, wrinkling her nose at Alanna's name.  
  
"She's still your mother," Adrian said with a wry grin. "Don't defame her name. Much," he added as an afterthought.  
  
  
  
Over the next several hours, Harry, Draco and the rest of the Demigods were worked to the bone, caring for the injured soldiers. Over fifteen hundred of them had to be healed, ranging from second degree burns to eviscerations.  
  
Once Severus had drunk the potion Ginny had given him, he fell into a coma, unreachable by even telepathy. Draco and Harry sat by his bedside for almost twenty four hours straight. Monday morning found them still sitting there, Harry holding Laurel's hand while Draco held Severus', squeezing it gently.  
  
_ Come on, Uncle Sev, I know you can hear me. I want you two to come back to us. It's scary seeing you two lying there so still. Please, Uncle Sev, please._ A hand landed on Draco's shoulder and he looked up into the understanding eyes of Madam Pomfrey.  
  
"It's all right Dearie," she said comfortingly. "Now, the question is that it's Monday morning. Will you go to class, or would you like me to write you two an excuse?"  
  
"Who's taking over Uncle Sev's classes?" Harry asked, biting his lip.  
  
"Me," Xander said from the doorway. "And before you ask, I am competent to teach," he said, holding up a hand to stall Draco's obvious questions. "I've held a Potions Mastery for almost four hundred years, as well as Defense, Dark Arts, Herbology, and two Martial Arts sixth degree black belts."  
  
Draco rolled his eyes. "Is there anything you can't do?" he asked, shaking his head.  
  
"He still can't get a soufflé right, he still can't kick my ass in a fair fight with no distractions, and he's horrible with remembering important dates, but other than that," Alanna said, smirking, "He's damn near perfect."  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. "Can you be any sappier?"  
  
"So, class or not?" Madam Pomfrey asked, holding out two passes. "If you don't go to Care of Magical Creatures, you are going right to your dorms to sleep. You were in the battle too, and you've been awake for over forty eight hours. Get some rest."  
  
Harry and Draco took the passes wearily and Apparated straight to their dorms. "Now that you mention it," Harry said, yawning. "I'm really tired." He collapsed onto his bed, Draco following him immediately. They only had enough strength to magic off their clothes and tuck themselves in before sleep claimed them.  
  
  
  
Harry groaned and opened his eyes. Beside him, Draco was blinking sleepily. "What time is it?" the blond asked groggily.  
  
Harry flicked his wrist, and glowing numbers appeared in midair. "6:10," Harry muttered.  
  
"AM or PM?" Draco wondered. AM, the lights blinked.  
  
"We slept for twenty three hours," Harry grumbled, rolling out of bed. He searched for clothing, throwing shirts and pairs of pants all over the room in his efforts. Draco snickered as the clothes landed on chairs, beds, and winced when a black silk shirt hit him in the face.  
  
"Watch it!" he snapped.  
  
"Actually, you slept for forty seven hours," an amused voice cut in. They turned around and blushed, Harry diving for the cover, suddenly aware he was completely naked. Lily stood in the doorway, resting wearily on the stone door jam. "Redecorating?" she asked wryly, staring at the clothes strewn room.  
  
"Mum, are you all right?" Harry asked, finding a pair of boxers, pulling them on hastily, standing up and hugging her.  
  
"I'm fine, just tired. I'm teaching more classes and it's taking a lot out of me, especially now that I'm almost seven months along. Besides, now that Sirius is back, he, James and Remus are up at all hours, plotting insidious pranks to pull on unsuspecting students. You'd think that fifteen years of being Home with Mother, he'd grow up a little. But no," she muttered. Harry sat her down on the chair at his desk.  
  
"Mum, you need to take it easy," he chided gently.  
  
"Well, we all know you two did," she grinned impishly. "What, that marathon sex session in the face of danger wear my poor baby out so badly he had to sleep for two days?" she snickered.  
  
Draco almost fell off the bed from laughing so hard. "MUM!" Harry yelled, scandalized. "I'm not going to tell YOU that! Speaking of babies, how's Junior?" he asked, patting his Mum's very rounded stomach.  
  
"He enjoyed the exercise," she said with pride. "And he's almost as strong as you are. Normally, James and I can manage fifty to one hundred people tagging along in our Apparation zone. With Gareth Alexander boosting us, quite willingly, we took four hundred people to the Infirmary with ease."  
  
"Gareth Alexander? He decided?" Harry asked. Lily's stomach glowed silver, tickling Harry's hand. "Hey, bro," Harry said softly, pushing back with an emerald beam. The two intermixed, and Harry felt a wave of contentment and curiosity surrounding his mind. _Gareth?_ he asked softly. The emotions changed to pure joy. "Hey, this feels cool!"  
  
Draco shot out of bed. "Let me!" he said eagerly, all sleepiness gone.  
  
Lily snickered. "All right, but I have to get to breakfast by seven thirty," she warned. She swirled with scarlet, and the three of them spent an hour 'talking' with Gareth.  
  
  
  
Alanna bent over the toilet again, retching miserably. _Ohhh, I hate being sick...._ she moaned. _Xander, I don't think I can go to breakfast.  
_  
Xander appeared in the doorway, concern etched on his face. "I'm taking you to Madam Pomfrey," he snapped. "This has gone on long enough. You've been sick since we started training two months ago."  
  
_ No! You can't make me! I HATE Healers!!! _she hissed as he grabbed her arm. She turned back and dry heaved weakly.  
  
_Watch me,_ he said angrily and Apparated them straight to the Hospital Wing.  
  
"MADAM POMFREY!!!!" he bellowed. She came running out of the back and stopped, slack jawed, as Xander wrestled his soul mate onto a bed and then magicked her to the bed so she couldn't run away. "She's been throwing up for two months every morning but it clears up by the afternoon in time for classes. She's eating weird food combinations and has incredible mood swings. What the hell is wrong with her??"  
  
Madam Pomfrey started giggling. "All right, I'll run a few tests, but I can already guess. Alanna, you've missed a few monthly cycles, right?"  
  
Alanna paled. "Oh no," she moaned quietly. "I thought it was because I dropped weight from the training!"  
  
Madam Pomfrey paled. "How much weight have you lost?" she demanded. "You were thin to begin with!"  
  
"About ten kilos," Alanna admitted. "I can't keep anything down!"  
  
"I'll give you medication for nausea. You MUUST eat. It's imperative. No alcohol either."  
  
Alanna groaned and shook her head. "All right, no more parties, not even at the Finals and the award ceremony afterwards. Shit!"  
  
Xander finally lost his patience. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!!!" he finally bellowed.  
  
Madam Pomfrey sniffed and muttered at pregnancy indicator. Alanna's stomach glowed pink. "Congratulations, it's a girl."  
  
Xander stared at Alanna's stomach, his eyes wide. "You're - you're pregnant and YOU WENT INTO HELL????" he screamed, fire shooting from his eyes. An instant later, the entire Hospital Wing was on engulfed in flames. Alanna put it out with a wave of her hand.  
  
"I didn't know!!" she insisted.  
  
"You put not only yourself but the life of our CHILD at risk!!" he yelled, the entire school shuddering with the power.  
  
  
  
Draco, Harry, Lily, and James looked at each other from where they were sitting in the Dungeons and sighed.  
  
"What is it now?" Harry asked wearily. "Don't we get a rest?" They Apparated to the source of the shudders.  
  
  
  
In the Great Hall, students who had arrived early for Breakfast shrieked and dove under the tables, certain the building was about to fall apart. All throughout the school, students dove under beds or ran for exits, certain all hell had broken loose and they were about to die.  
  
  
  
Harry, Draco Lily and Lames landed in the Hospital Wing and were immediately assaulted by flames and flood. Madam Pomfrey was hiding in her office and the rest of the regular Hospital ward had been turned into a war zone. Alanna and Xander stood in the center of it all, snarling and hurling curses at each other.  
  
Harry and Draco rolled their eyes and threw shields around the two of them. "SEPERATE!!!" Lily bellowed. Harry and Draco moved the two of them to opposite sides of the room, shaking their heads in bemusement.  
  
Alanna tried to throw herself through the shield, with absolutely no success. On the other side of the room, Xander tried to blast his way out, but only succeeded in slamming himself in the stomach when the energy ball rebounded. He fell to the bottom of the shield, gasping.  
  
Lily and James cleared the room of any smoke, soot, craters and water and, on a whim, even replaced the linen and made the beds. Madam Pomfrey hugged James, relieved. "Thank God, I thought they were going to destroy the whole school! Oh, could I have a new door?" she asked quickly. James turned around. The door had been blasted off its hinges and reduced to kindling. He waved his hand and the door was replaced. Lily walked into the private room at the back to check on Severus and Laurel.  
  
Harry walked over to Alanna; Draco walked over to Xander. "What's going on?" they asked their respective adults.  
  
Alanna threw her hands into the air. "I had NO idea I was pregnant!!" she spat, glaring daggers at her soul mate. "But he refuses to believe that! He thinks I would DELIBERATELY put my child's life in danger!! Then he started throwing curses at me! He's ENDAGERING his child!!!"  
  
Harry's mind stopped working at the word pregnant. "You're pregnant?" He blurted out. Impulsively, he lowered the shields and hugged her. "Congratulations!!!"  
  
Xander scowled. Alanna glared at him. "See," she spat," SOMEONE'S happy I'm pregnant!" Xander snarled and threw a fireball that engulfed his hair. Draco grinned and put out the flames.  
  
"She took our CHILD into HELL!!!" he yelled, energy crackling around his hands. "SHE WAS SO BUSY PLAYING SOLDIER THAT SHE COULDN'T FIGURE OUT SHE WAS PREGNANT AND RISKED OUR CHILD!!!  
  
"SCREW YOU, ASSHOLE!!" she screamed, and threw an energy bolt that crackled and ricocheted off of the shields, hitting the wall. Harry sighed and put a shield around her again. She promptly sat down inside and sulked, starting to cry quietly. "You think I don't feel horrible enough??" she sobbed. "I didn't even know! You're right; I put our daughter at risk! I feel like a terrible, unfit parent!"  
  
The energy around Xander's hands vanished, as did the two shields. Xander appeared next to Alanna and cradled her in his arms. "It's my fault, too," he soothed. "I've only helped you go through morning sickness several hundred times in my life. I should have suspected. But I was too busy playing soldier too." Harry calmly repaired the crater in the wall, and the five spectators walked out quietly, shaking their heads.  
  
"I think Alanna's not the only one having mood swings," Harry said quietly, completely shaken.  
  
"There was enough estrogen in that room for an army of pregnant women," James muttered. Lily smacked him.  
  
"What?" he complained, rubbing the back of his head. "There was!" Lily smacked him again.  
  
They strode into the Great Hall and watched as the students nervously crawled from under their tables. "Is it safe?" a first year Hufflepuff asked timidly.  
  
Draco sighed. "Yes, you can all come out now. Alanna and Xander just had a minor disagreement."  
  
Shocked and incredulous, the students started whispering to each other. Harry overheard one stammer, "But- but if that was minor, what happens when it's major?"  
  
_The planet blows up._ Lily rolled her eyes and sat down at the Slytherin Tables, everyone else following her. Harry tried not to gag too much as she ate pickles with her pancakes.  
  
  
  
Later that afternoon, after Quidditch practice, Madam Hooch called them all into the center of the Pitch. "Now, I could have them postpone the match," she said, getting right to the point. "You've been involved in rescuing Sirius Black and Laurel, even if you didn't directly go. Wood agrees with me, as do the rest of the people in charge. So, it's up to you." She walked off, leaving them to decide.  
  
"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but Harry and I slept for two days. We're fine to play," Draco said.  
  
"Classes were canceled Monday for the rest of us," Emily said. "We're well rested. I think we should play."  
  
"It's decided then?" Harry asked. Everyone nodded, some more excited than others.  
  
They trooped off the field to find Madam Hooch. She was sitting in the Great Hall, having a cup of tea.  
  
"Madam Hooch, we want to play this weekend," Harry said without any preamble.  
  
"Thank you for offering to postpone the match, but none of us is feeling any ill effects from the rescue," Draco said quietly.  
  
Madam Hooch nodded. "All right then, your opponent is Southern California's School of Magic," she said, finishing her tea.  
  
Emily grinned. "I know their playing style. Come on! Let's talk strategy."  
  
"The Chamber?" Harry asked. Everyone nodded and Apparated.  
  
  
  
Saturday morning came too soon for Harry. He opened his eyes at what felt like an obscene hour of the morning, woken by Draco's excited chatter. "Come on, Harry, get out of bed! It's the Finals and we have to get ready and practice and warm up and leave in two hours and forty two minutes so would you please get out of bed? Please? Please? Please?"  
  
"It's six eighteen in the morning, Draco," Harry grumbled. "You said it yourself that we didn't have to bee there until nine o'clock. I want another hour of sleep."  
  
"Come on, you lazy git, get up!!" Draco half yelled, pulling on Harry's half of the blankets. He suddenly found himself sitting on his old bed, the curtains drawn around Harry's bed. "Oh no you don't," Draco growled, running back over and pounding on the curtains. "Get out of bed!"  
  
An hour later, Harry poked his head out of the curtains and almost fell over laughing. Draco was curled up on the floor next to Harry's bed, wrapped in a blanket and fast asleep. Harry slid noiselessly out of bed and levitated his sleeping soul mate, an evil grin on his face. _Hmm, how best to wake you up?_ he mused. He walked Draco into the bathroom, careful not to disturb his sleep. He turned on the shower and stripped, banishing Draco's boxers. He floated Draco into the steaming water.  
  
Two minutes later, Draco slowly awoke to one of the most pleasurable sensations of his life. "Ohhhhh," he moaned softly, arching into capable hands. "Don't stop."  
  
Harry snickered. "You like that, don't you."  
  
"Don't you dare stop," Draco protested as Harry's hands stilled. "You aren't finished!"  
  
"Yes I am. Now we need to wash you off."  
  
Draco pouted as Harry gently turned Draco's hair into the blast of water and rinsed the out the suds. "But it felt so good!" he whined.  
  
Harry snickered. "You are so easy to please. And, you make everything, even having your hair washed, sound pornographic."  
  
Draco smirked. "But you love me anyway," he reminded Harry.  
  
  
  
An hour later, Harry and Draco strolled into the Great Hall for breakfast, already in their Quidditch uniforms. Only a few teachers and two other students were already there, so they sat down, breakfast appearing before them. While they were eating, Emily and Eric wandered in, ready to go. Emily had her Quidditch robes on as well, and they strolled over to Draco and Harry sitting down and spearing some food for themselves.  
  
Hermione dragged Ron, still in what looked like his pajamas, into the Great Hall. She ushered him over the Gryffindor Table. Harry caught her eye and waved them over cheerily. She grinned and steered Ron's unresisting, still half asleep body over to sit across from Harry, Draco, Emily and Eric. Harry shoved a cup of pumpkin juice into Ron's searching hand. Draco snickered as he watched Ron try to drink the pumpkin juice and wind up pouring half of it down his bright orange Chudley Cannon's shirt.  
  
"Is he like that every morning?" he wondered aloud.  
  
"Worse." Ginny plopped down, wearing her Quidditch uniform, next to Draco. Darius sat down next to her, still half asleep. "Usually he falls back asleep- ooh, there he goes, right onto the scrambled eggs!" Ron toppled over, Hermione smacking his arm futilely.  
  
Harry conjured a goblet of ice cold water. "Allow me, Hermione." She grinned, stood up and moved to a safe distance.  
  
Ron's scream of outrage could be heard echoing for miles around as Harry dumped the water on the back of his neck. Ron sputtered and cursed before stalking out of the Hall accompanied by laughter.  
  
Seamus and Blaise Apparated in and cheerfully flew to the table. "Morning, all," Seamus chirped, resting his arm around Blaise's waist.  
  
"You two are entirely too chipper for this time of morning," Alanna grumped from behind them. "Somebody got laid."  
  
Blaise and Seamus just grinned.  
  
Claudette and Lucas, her mate, walked into the Great Hall. "Darius, it's time for breakfast," Claudette called. Darius obligingly stood up and whispered something into Ginny's ear. He walked over to his mother and father and they left the Great Hall. A minute later, they heard the Entrance doors open and slam shut.  
  
"Where are they going?" Seamus wondered.  
  
Blaise rolled his eyes. "They're Vampires, dorkwad. They have to drink blood."  
  
Ginny looked put out. "I would have donated," she sulked.  
  
"Not forty five minutes before the Final game, you won't," Harry glared at her.  
  
"Why not?" Draco wondered.  
  
"Hello, blood loss leads to dizziness and decreased physical performance and endurance," Alanna said with a wry grin. Harry tried not to shudder as she took an enormous bite of scrambled eggs, Ketchup, and maple syrup on toast. "Mmm!" she grinned enthusiastically.  
  
Harry, Draco and Blaise turned green and left the table, their appetites gone. They grabbed their brooms and took off, soaring above the Forbidden Forest. Less than five minutes later, Ginny and Seamus joined them, their faces tinged white. "Have enough?" Harry called to Ginny.  
  
"The scrambled eggs weren't bad," Ginny gulped, "but when she added slices of watermelon to it we lost it."  
  
Harry shuddered. "I'm glad I'll never get pregnant," he muttered.  
  
Draco snickered. "Xander said it was possible, remember?"  
  
Harry gulped.  
  
Madam Hooch swooped next to them. "We need to leave in thirty minutes," she yelled.  
  
"Got it!" Harry yelled back. "Where are we going?"  
  
"San Diego! Their Quidditch Stadium!"  
  
"All right!" Harry dive bombed Draco, who spent the better part of their half hour left chasing Harry and swearing at him.  
  
The entire team assembled in the Entrance Hall, waiting to go. At last, Madam Hooch ran into the hall and they group Apparated, arriving in the middle of an enormous stadium. Madam Hooch led them to the locker rooms on the ground level and told them to wait, walking back out of the door. Everyone chatted excitedly, finalizing strategies, gossiping and psyching themselves up for the game.  
  
"What's going on?" Ron asked softly, sitting on a bench.  
  
"No clue," Draco said just as softly. Harry sat down next to him and he sat on Harry's lap, resting his head on the other boy's chest wearily. "I wish Uncle Sev were in the stands."  
  
Ginny frowned, and the excited chatter died as the somber mood infected everyone. "We're going to win," she said slowly and clearly. "For Uncle Sev."  
  
Everyone murmured their agreement.  
  
Ten minutes later, Madam Hooch poked her head into the room. "It's time," she said simply. As one, they rose, mounted their brooms and shot out of the door, circling the field. A steady roar of voices greeted them and they looked around, amazed. The stands, able to seat tens of thousands of spectators, were filled to the brim. Harry could see the Hogwarts students and faculty, minus Severus and Laurel, his parents, Remus and Sirius, Alanna, Xander, the rest of the demigods and demigoddesses, Draco's parents, Ron's entire family, their SEAL training team, Darius, Claudette, Lucas, the werewolves' Lupa and Lukoi, the students from Durmstrung, Magica Universidad de Roma, Beauxbatons, and Dragon Fang, and many other people he knew.  
  
The other team, in scarlet and black, shot out of their locker room, and circled in the opposite direction. They wove in and out of the Hogwarts' team, dive bombing each other and trying to knock the other players from their brooms.  
  
"Well, lookie here, Hailie, Little Emmy is all grown up now and thinks she can play with the big kids," a tanned boy with a shock of bleach blond hair and hazel eyes jeered.  
  
"Fuck off, Jared," Emily snapped, barrel rolling around her former team mate and flying next to Ginny, Harry and Draco.  
  
"Ooh, big words," 'Hailie', a tall girl with russet colored hair and piercing blue eyes jeered. "Give up now, bitch, or we'll take you out.  
  
"Sod off, you stupid bint," Draco snapped, cutting Hailie off with his broom and diving.  
  
"Ohhh, I'm so scared," an Asian girl with red streaks in her ebony hair snickered, standing up and surfing on her broom.  
  
James flicked her broom with a small gust of wind and she swayed, screaming before sitting back down.  
  
"Has anyone ever told you how stupid you sound?" Harry informed the San Diego team in a bored tone. "Insults are so old."  
  
"We're going to mop the Pitch with you," Jared growled, buzzing Harry. Harry reached up and grabbed the end of the Chaser's broom, causing Jared to tip and almost fall off.  
  
"We're so scared," Ginny hissed, showing a hint of fang. Hailie stared at her mouth, her face paling.  
  
Magically enhanced voices- Lee Jordan, Fred and George Weaseley, boomed over the crowd's cheering. "LADIES AND GENTS!!!" they yelled enthusiastically. "IT'S THE FINAL GAME!!! IT'S COME DOWN TO HOGWARTS-" a roar drowned them out and they stopped, waiting until the crowd quieted. "BETWEEN HOGWARTS AND SAN DIEGO SCHOOL OF MAGIC!!!!" An even louder roar shook the stadium as every fan surged to his or her feet, cheering and clapping for the teams.  
  
The referee sat on her broom in the center of the field, waiting for the players to settle down and take their positions. They circled the Pitch once more, to the crowd's delight, and settled into their places, ready to begin.  
  
"Captains, shake hands." Harry and Draco touched ground and stalked over to the other team's captain, their Quidditch robes billowing gracefully. They abruptly shook hands with 'Jared' and turned back around, mounting their brooms. They soared back into place, waiting.  
  
"No cheating," the referee growled, releasing the Snitch. It circled around James and the other Seeker before flitting away. She tossed to Bludgers into the air and they zoomed madly around the Pitch. At last, she tossed the Quaffle into the air.  
  
"AND THEY'RE OFF!!!" Harry blocked the sounds of the commentators and crowd from his mind and swerved forward to take the Quaffle. Another girl got to it first and streaked towards Hogwarts' goal. Seamus aimed a Bludger at her and knocked the Quaffle from her suddenly limp fingers. Ginny caught the falling Quaffle gracefully and sped in the opposite direction, Harry and Draco flanking her. They twisted and turned, passing back and forth. The goalie, Hailie, watched them with narrowed eyes, trying to anticipate their movements. She slightly wove back and forth, mirroring their movements. Finally, Harry saw his chance. He shot the Quaffle directly for the leftmost goal, and Hailie moved to block it, a sneer on her face. Draco caught the Quaffle at the last possible moment, redirecting it into the center goal.  
  
"HOGWARTS SCORES!!!!!!!!!!!" Fred screamed, the Hogwarts fans going nuts and the San Diego fans booing and catcalling.  
  
San Diego took possession quickly and shot back down the field, Jared and the Asian girl with the funky highlights passing quickly back and forth. "Hey Emmy!" Jared called cheerfully.  
  
Emily determinedly ignored him, concentrating on the Quaffle.  
  
"Hey, Bitch, is that any way to treat your old boyfriend?" the Asian girl asked scathingly.  
  
"Tina, bite me," Emily said edgily.  
  
"Bitch," Jared snapped, throwing the Quaffle for all he was worth. Emily blocked it and passed to Draco with ease.  
  
"Is that the best you've got?" Emily sneered. Jared glared at her before swooping off, chasing after the Quaffle.  
  
Less than two minutes later, he was back, his other chasers in tow. This time, as he hurtled the Quaffle to the goal, Emily already on the move, Harry shot directly up under the Quaffle and nabbed it, shooting above the shocked Chasers and back down the field.  
  
"God, Emmy, could you be any more pathetic?" Jared jeered. "You can't even do your job right so you have the Chasers tend Goal. How in hell did you get on the team? Sleep with every member?"  
  
Draco saw red as he slammed into Jared, viscously checking him into the side of the stands right below where Eric was sitting. Eric grabbed Jared's hair and held the writhing player in place. "That's my girlfriend you're swearing at and making allegations about, you stupid sodding prick," he growled, punching Jared full in the face. Jared yelped and the Referee halted play and shot over, grabbing Eric's wrist as he cocked his arm back for another punch.  
  
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS??" the referee screamed above Fred and George's ranting in the announcer's booth.  
  
"HE WAS SWEARING AT MY GIRLFRIEND!!!" Eric screamed back, his face red. Emily and Ginny hovered together by the goals, Ginny rubbing Emily's back and hugging her.  
  
"PENALTY FOR UNSPORTSMANLIKE BEHAVIOR!!" the referee screamed at Jared before turning to Eric. "And YOU, leave the stadium at once!" Eric motioned to Harry and Harry flew over and stepped into the stands, handing over his broom. He ignored the ref's yells of outrage.  
  
Eric shot into the air and barely braked in time to keep from crashing into his girlfriend. Ginny backed off, and Eric softly talked to Emily, who grinned and kissed him. Eric flew back; his face set and handed the broom back to Harry. Without another word, he Apparated. The Hogwarts fans in the stands booed, and Alanna stood up. "WHAT THE FUCK, REF???" she screamed, Lily standing up and screaming along side her. "WHAT ARE YOU, STUPID? ARE YOU SLEEPING WITH THE LITTLE BLOND SHIT, HUH?? IS THAT WHY YOU'RE FAVORING HIM? REFFING A LITTLE EXTRA PRIVATE QUIDDITCH SESSIONS?? THE FUCK!!!!"  
  
The ref opened her mouth, furious, but the magically enhanced voices of Olivia and Gaila leading the rest of the demigods and demigoddesses in a chant overrode her. "CHING CHING CHONG, SMOKE FROM A BONG, GRAB SOME POT AND SMOKE RIGHT ALONG! THE REF'S A SLICK, STUPID SODDING PRICK, LETS THE OTHER TEAM WIN IF THEY GIVE HER DICK! CHING CHING CHONG, SMOKE FROM A BONG..." ™ they continued chanting, getting the students involved. Four hundred voices echoed throughout the stadium, repeating the same lines over and over for the better part of ten minutes. The ref stared at them, her face scarlet and her mouth opening and closing furiously.  
  
Finally, she overrode their voices. "LEAVE THE STADIUM NOW!!!!!!!" she roared.  
  
Alanna, Xander, Olivia, Gaila, Raphael, Gabrielle, Rowan, Michael, Salazar, Godric, Lily, Damien and Nicholai powered up, the stadium shaking from the energy they were producing. "I dare you to make us," Alanna hissed, her eyes glowing. The ref gulped and backed down immediately, her face white.  
  
Turning, she waved her wand and summoned the Quaffle. "Right, let's continue play. Places, everyone." The players took their positions and play resumed.  
  
Two hours later, they were still at it, the score 630 to 620, San Diego in the lead. James circled the Pitch, searching for the Snitch to no avail. _Guys, I can't find it,_ he said quietly. _It keeps flitting in and out. I'll see it briefly, and- gold, is that it??  
_  
_That's it!_ Harry snapped, passing the tiny golden ball as he shot the Quaffle again at the goal. It went in! _Finally, we evened the score, but for how long? They're better than anyone we've ever faced!_ He shot after Jared, Tina and Grant, the third Chaser. Next to him, Draco found an opening and shot forward, snagging the Quaffle and turning on a dime, heading back the way he came. He and Harry passed back and forth and Draco shot the Quaffle, scoring yet again.  
  
Blaise and Seamus had a hell of a time trying to keep the Bludgers from hitting their teammates. Blaise slammed the nearest Bludger from its course aimed directly at Harry's head to hit Grant square in the ribs, knocking him from his broom. He managed to grab hold with one arm and dangled in the air, his other hand clutching his side. Tina helped her teammate up, and Seamus had to block the Bludger the second Beater aimed at his face. He and Blaise targeted the Beaters after that, taking out one permanently from the game. However, that didn't give them an advantage as his replacement was just as good and a fresh player.  
  
They continued scoring back and forth, the score steadily increasing evenly. After another three hours, they had evened out to 1120 to 1090, Hogwarts in the lead. "THIS IS NUTS!!!" Fred yelled over the crowds. He, George and Lee were taking half hour turns "FIVE AND A HALF HOURS AND THEY'RE STILL GOING!! WILL SOMEONE FIND THE BLOODY FU--"  
  
Professor McGonagall grabbed the magical microphone. "MR. WEASELEY!! JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE NO LONGER A STUDENT DOESN'T MEAN I CAN'T STILL GIVE YOU DETENTION!!!!!"  
  
Laughter and cheers broke out. "SORRY, PROFESSOR. AS I WAS SAYING, WOULD SOMEONE FIND THE SNITCH ALREADY??"  
  
James shot over to the stand. "Don't you think we're trying??" Behind him, Harry and Draco scored several times, bringing the score to 1150 to 1110.  
  
Lee laughed and James gestured rudely towards him. As he turned his head, the snitch hovered in front of his face. He reached out, as if in slow motion, and snagged a wing. Lee's mouth dropped open and he started screaming. It took a minute for the voices to register in James's mind. "WE WON!!! HOGWARTS WINS!!! JAMES POTTER CAUGHT THE BLOODY SNITCH!!! I DON'T BELIEVE IT!!! IT JUST SAT IN FRONT OF HIS FACE AND HE TOOK IT FROM MIDAIR!!! HOGWARTS ARE CHAMPIONS. 1300 TO 1130!!! HGWARTS WINS!!!" James shot down to the field, holding the snitch aloft. Harry mobbed him, tackling him from his broom and landing on the grass.  
  
"YOU DID IT!!!" Harry screamed. "WE WON!!!! WE'RE CHAMPIONS!!!!!" Draco slid to the grass next to Harry, Ginny, Blaise, Seamus and Emily sliding as well. The Hogwarts fans stormed the field, chanting and cheering and screaming.  
  
Oliver ran onto the field, levitating a table with four trophies on it. He quickly tapped a Sonorous on his throat. "EVERYONE SHUT UP!!!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. Everyone immediately quieted, with the adults murmuring about rude young people.  
  
"THANK YOU!! WE'RE ALL HERE, ALL TWENTY TEAMS, SO WE'LL HOLD THE AWARDS NOW!!" Hogwarts' team sat on the grass, joined by Magica Universidad de Roma's students and Quidditch team.  
  
"IN FOURTH PLACE OVER ALL, ONTARIO MAGE'S ACADEMY!!!" The team captain and the headmistress walked up and received their trophy, shaking Oliver's hand. Their students cheered and whistled and everyone else clapped.  
  
"IN THIRD PLACE, ACADEMY OF ISIS!!" The twin co captains, and their headmaster, walked up and accepted their trophy to cheers, whistles and clapping.  
  
"IN SECOND PLACE, SAN DIEGO SCHOOL OF MAGIC!!!" Jared scowled and stalked forward, flanked by Tina, Grant and their Headmistress. They ungratefully took the trophy to polite applause. They scowled and stalked back to their seats.  
  
"AND THE CHAMPIONS, HOGWARTS!!!!!!!!!" Oliver yelled. The crowd roared as Harry and Draco, accompanied by the rest of the team and Dumbledore ran up and grabbed the trophy, holding it aloft.  
  
  
  
An hour later, the entire school, parents and friends were in the Great Hall, sitting at expanded tables. Lucius and Narcissa sat on one side of Draco and Harry, Lily and James on the other. Everyone was crowded around them as they chatted and laughed. Harry was amazed at the transformation Lucius and his wife had undergone. They were carefree and ... happy. He shook his head in amazement. Draco was talking animatedly, his eyes sparkling.  
  
_Love, your parents are... nice, and... happy. What happened?_ Harry asked Draco.  
  
_They don't have to hide any more, _Draco replied with a grin. _They can be happy. The Dark Lord can't hurt them and they don't have to look over their shoulders any more and make sure that no one could rat them out. It's incredible.  
  
It's wonderful,_ Harry said, basking in the love and affection Draco was broadcasting to everyone.  
  
Dumbledore tapped his glass. "Students, teachers and guests, this is a momentous occasion," he said, his deceptively soft voice carrying throughout the hall. "We're the champions of the interscholastic Quidditch Organization. I only have a few words. Party on!"  
  
For the rest of the day, night, and into the early hours of the next morning, alcohol flowed in copious amounts. As the night wore on, of which Lily and Alanna could not take part, Harry nudged Draco.  
  
"Yes?" Draco slurred slightly as he kissed his mother on the cheek. "Have I told you how much I love you?" he asked a giggling Narcissa.  
  
"Not today!" Narcissa exclaimed happily.  
  
"I LOVE MY MUMMY!" Draco yelled at the top of his lungs.  
  
Lucius stumbled over, his normally impeccable hair and clothing askew. Playfully, he wrapped Draco in a bear hug. "You did well, my son. I'm proud of you!" he exclaimed, taking a swig from a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label. He ruffled Draco's hair and Draco ducked away from him, laughing.  
  
"Come on, Cissa," Lucius drawled. "Let's go have a private party." He led a giggling Narcissa away. Draco turned beet red.  
  
"Did they- oh wow," Harry said.  
  
Lucius turned back around. "So, Draco, do you fancy a brother or a sister?" he called over the crowd. Draco choked as the rest of the student body turned around and stared as his now smirking father nibbled on his wife's neck, leading her out of the Great Hall. Lily and James ran out after them, hopefully to lead them to somewhere private where no impressionable little Hufflepuffs could walk in on them.  
  
Harry shook his head. "Wanna go somewhere?" he asked playfully.  
  
"The mansion?" Draco asked, his eyes shining.  
  
Harry grabbed his hand and led him over to Alanna, who was laughing uproariously over Xander's drunken antics and McGonagall's drunken antics as well.  
  
"Alanna!" he yelled. She turned and grinned at him.  
  
"What do you want, kid?" she yelled.  
  
"We're taking off!" Draco yelled back, grinning.  
  
"Have fun!" Alanna made a shooing motion. "Go on! You deserve a night off!"  
  
They Apparated, landing on their bed in the mansion. Harry lightly kissed Draco on the lips, slowly pulling off his shirt. "I love you," he whispered, staring Draco straight in the eye.  
  
"I love you too." That night, they made love slowly, cherishing each other.  
  
  
  
A/N: ONE MORE TO GO!!! Honestly, people, I'm tying up loose ends... (and sexy Harry and Draco... ooh, kinky! Bring on the chocolate sauce and scented oils!) and then the next book (A Fine Line Between Heaven and Hell), as well as the rest of Just Like You, which is almost done, one or two more chapters, and Jungle Law and My Immortal (parts two and three of Lesser of Two Evils). So that's what to look forward to. Anyway, I'm having fun... are you having fun reading? Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers!!!  
  
B/N: Hola people!!! This is just amazing, isn't it? I mean, wow! Thirty- three fucking chapters and we're almost done... sniff I do so love happy endings! But enough of that shit; on to more important things! Like why am I up at 1:06 in the freaking morning, betaing this story? I mean, seriously! And there is my little brother Mikey, asleep on the couch next to where I am typing. Aaaaw, he's so cute!!! And he's got his little Spiderman doll... Spiderman, Spiderman, does whatever a spider can! Spins a web, any size; catches thieves, just like flies. Watch out! Here comes the Spiderman! .................. .....Ugh! I have got to go to sleep earlier. Anyway, for my parting note, I say this: ......crickets chirping in the background.......... "Um"........... "Uh"....... "Er"...... "Damnit!!! Of all the times to have my brain give out on me, it just had to be now!"......... "Grrr"........ "Arrg"........ "Rowr".......... "Meow".... "Waitjustadamnminute! Where did that come from?!" turns to see Mikey cuddling with his Spiderman "Ooooh, that is just so cute!!! He's like a little kitty! Well, I've already wasted enough space on this page, I'll be done now. Love and cookies, people! Tata! 


	34. Chapter 34

B/N: Hello people! Itshmee! Here's the thingy: Laura's not doing too good, got a snitch load of writer's block or something, so the next chappie may be a little longer in coming... Personally, me thinks that it is difficult for her to end it, 'cause it is like her baby, you know? She needs some time, and lots of support from her reviewers, ok? So if all of our faithful, loyal, wonderful readers could please give her some help with a big side-helping of sugar, then I would be eternally grateful (plus she would write faster!). No death threats, please!  
  
A/N: I'm sorry, people, it's just too hard to write the end. Sniff, sniff "WAAAAHHHH!!!" It's seriously like a brain child or something. I clothed it and fed it lots and lots of smut and let the plotline develop and it's just so hard to think that it's ending. Oh well, the sequel will be easy to start. I just have to get the ending out of the way. I have many loose ends to tie up (bondage... yum). Ok, Laura, stop thinking about tying people up already!  
  
B/N: Run little readers, run!  
  
A/N: (grins evilly while brandishing a handful of chains) who, me? You have nothing to fear....  
  
B/N: Don't believe a damn thing she says; you will regret it!  
  
A/N: Damn it, you're scaring off my victims- oops, I mean my readers. Damn it all to hell! (Clautius walks in) Laura, you've stiffed me on my last pay check. PREPARE TO BURN, BITCH!!! (Laura) yawn so you keep saying, but I keep coming to Hell and it's just a nice vacation spot. Dad, would you quit threatening to roast me?  
  
B/N: Like I said, 'Don't believe a damn thong she says!' But just to be safe... RUN LITTLE READERS, RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
A/N: Who's got a thong? Annie, what are you doing???  
  
B/N: Thong? What thong? I have no thong, damn you!! (Walks away and everyone sees the strings)  
  
A/N: That thong the thon thong thong... whooo!!! Sorry, people for the insaneness, but... hey! I got some inspiration!!!!!! I'm gonna go write now!  
  
(Three days later)  
  
A/N: This is it, people!!! This is the last chapter! I'm going to write the first couple of chapters, probably six or so, before I start the sequel, A Fine Line Between Heaven and Hell. To everyone who was wondering how I would do it in one chapter, that's what the next book is! THERE IS A SEQUEL!  
  
Chapter 34  
  
Harry and Draco Apparated back early the next morning into the Great Hall, just in time to feel the earth buckle. "What the hell?" Draco muttered, Apparating them straight to the source of the violent energy. They appeared in the middle of their dorm room and stared at Eric's bed. A golden, blue, silver and scarlet glow wreathed the bed and everything else around the bed was a combination of scorched and waterlogged. The rumbles died down to tremors and finally stopped.  
  
Harry started chuckling. His chuckles turned into roars of laughter as Draco joined him, sitting on the floor and laughing until tears streamed down his face. Two flushed and embarrassed faces peered out of the curtains. Emily stuck her hand out and shot a stream of flames at Harry, lighting his shirt on fire.  
  
He put out the flames with a wave of his hand and stared morosely at the burned spot. "Damnit! I liked that shirt!" Harry said in between chuckles. Draco touched the scorch marks and the shirt re-knit itself in seconds, once again as good as new.  
  
"So, did you two have fun?" Draco asked, still snickering. Eric sent as miniature tidal wave out of the curtains, crashing into the flabbergasted demigod. "Hey! I was only asking a valid question!"  
  
Emily crawled out of Eric's bed, her face the exact shade of red as her oversized tee shirt. "Hey, we didn't make fun of you after a night of drunken sex," she moaned, running to the bathroom. "I think I'm gonna be sick."  
  
"Was that in reference to the drunkenness or the sex?" Harry asked, scratching his head.  
  
Eric glared at him but, before he could say anything in his defense, sprinted for the bathroom as well.  
  
"Hmmm, to get them sobriety potions or not?" Draco mused. Harry smacked his arm and Apparated, returning with two anti hangover potions for Emily and Eric. He walked into the bathroom and walked back out a minute later with their friends in tow.  
  
"So, how does it feel to be bonded?" Harry asked Emily.  
  
"Weird," she said, wrinkling her nose. "He won't get out of my head."  
  
"Well you're the one who said why don't we try it with our minds linked," Eric grumbled.  
  
Harry and Draco looked at each other and cracked up. "It's not funny!" Emily protested, frowning. "This is so weird!"  
  
"Well, maybe you should have asked what bonding was like before trying!" Draco snickered.  
  
"We didn't know! Wait- BONDED!" Eric yelled, his eyes wide. "I'm only sixteen! I'm too young for this!"  
  
"Too late for that now," Harry said, biting his lip.  
  
Emily and Eric stared at each other pensively. _Oh shit, this is bad.  
_  
  
  
Sirius and Remus sat in Lily and James's living room, the potions Harry had given Remus sitting on the table in front of them.  
  
"Harry gave these to me for Christmas, Sirius. One, the blue one, will make the Werewolf permanent and give me the abilities of a Born Werewolf. The other, the green one, is a permanent cure. I don't know which one to take. I mean, I like the perks of being a werewolf: heightened senses, increased strength, the works, but I hate what it does to me for that one night. I hate killing and hurting others. The wolf goes against what I believe. Well, Sirius, what do you think?" Remus asked tiredly.  
  
Sirius stared at the bottles with an unreadable expression. "Well, let's look at this from a different perspective. I love you just the way you are, wolf included." Remus started to speak but Sirius held up a hand. "Let me finish. The wolf comes out quite often, in almost everything you do. You act like an Alpha wolf half the time, and the other half you still have wolfish tendencies. The wolf and you are almost one and the same. The potion that turns you into a Born Werewolf wouldn't change you, would in fact give you an incredible advantage. You would keep your mind during the forced transformations and would be able to transform at will any other time, again keeping your mind. The other potion would change who you are, Love. I don't know how you'll act without the wolf inside of you, and frankly, I don't want to find out. I'd vote for the blue potion."  
  
Remus's eyes were wide by the time Sirius was finished. "You mean it? You won't be mad if I take the blue one?" he said, slightly hopeful.  
  
Sirius grinned. "Admit it, Moony, you really, deep down, want the blue one."  
  
Remus grinned sheepishly. "I just thought, wow. The power involved would be incredible."  
  
"So?" Sirius handed Remus the blue potion with an enormous smile.  
  
Remus stared at the flask and, in one quick motion, removed the stopper and gulped it down. "Hmmm, now I'm sure that Severus deliberately makes his potions taste dreadful," he commented wryly. "I -AAAGRH!" he yelped, shuddering and curling into a ball.  
  
"Remus?" Sirius asked, suddenly terrified. Tentatively, he reached and grasped Remus's hand in his own. He watched, fascinated, as Remus's fingers transformed from wolf claws to fingers and back again before becoming fingers fully. Remus lifted his head, his shaggy brown hair falling into suddenly amber eyes. "Remus?" Sirius asked again.  
  
"I'm fine, Padfoot," Remus rasped, sniffing the air. "I'm better than fine. This is amazing!" He stood up suddenly, his eyes glowing. "It's like I was battling the wolf all along as a separate entity, when it was a part of me! I feel so complete!"  
  
"Remus, care to go for a run?" Sirius asked, transforming.  
  
Remus grinned wolfishly and transformed. The two raced out the door and through the Dungeons, terrifying passing students as a werewolf and the Grim raced through the corridors. At last they made it outside and sprinted into the Forbidden Forest.  
  
Harry and Draco stared down the hallway. "I know what potion Remus took!" Harry said excitedly.  
  
"That was Remus?" Draco asked. "Why didn't he attack anyone?"  
  
"He took the Born Werewolf Potion!" Harry said, just about skipping from happiness.  
  
Draco grinned. "Come on, we're going to be late for Potions."  
  
  
  
March and April passed by in a blur of studying, as the teachers seemed to think that, now Quidditch was over, the students wouldn't know what to do with their free time. Xander and Lily continued to teach Potions as Severus and Laurel were still in a coma. Harry, Lily, Draco, Ginny, and even the Marauders kept a constant vigil at their bedside, hoping they would wake up soon. Eric and Emily almost completely stopped speaking to each other for about a month before realizing that there wasn't anything they could do about it and relented. Besides that point, Eric missed the sex. Ginny moped for about three weeks after Darius went back to the Drow nation with his parents, and then realized that either of them could Apparate back and forth, as well as chat telepathically. They visited Hogsmede together every weekend after that.  
  
Remus, Sirius and James, in trying to cheer her up as well as live up to their Marauder reputation, took every opportunity to prank the students, once even turning the school into a jungle, complete with carnivorous plants. This of course was the day Narcissa and Lucius decided to visit Draco. Harry had the fortune of seeing Lucius battling an enormous Venus Fly Trap that happened to be enamored with his blond hair. Afterwards, Lucius Malfoy threatened him on pain of death not to repeat how he had managed to get the plant to release him.  
  
_ Draco, you wouldn't believe what your father just did,_ Harry said, chuckling at the memory, after the Malfoys had left. They were seated in the Library, studying for Finals.  
  
_ Did you know that my mother's pregnant?_ Draco asked.  
  
_ Congratulations. Remember how I had that thought about your father and the carnivorous plants?  
  
The one where he was fondling a Venus Fly Trap?_ Draco asked, grinning. _What of it?  
  
Guess what he did._ Harry sent him a very vivid image.  
  
_Oh no. Mother will be furious._ Draco started laughing. _Imagine, he's cheating on her with a plant.  
  
He didn't have a choice. The plant was molesting him and wouldn't let go._ Draco lost it completely, falling from the chair and howling with laughter.  
  
_Poor Father. He must be so scarred._  
  
Harry helped Draco back to his chair and they continued studying, only occasionally breaking out into giggles.  
  
  
  
Three weeks before Draco's seventeenth birthday, Harry, Ginny, Blaise, Eric, Emily, Neville, Luna and Seamus went shopping for Draco's presents. They Apparated to the Dungeon as soon as the Mall opened and then to Diagon and Knockturn Alley, anxious to do some shopping.  
  
Draco woke up and noticed immediately that Harry was gone. _Harry, where are you?_ He asked plaintively, rubbing his eyes.  
  
_ Isn't your birthday in three weeks?_ Harry asked.  
  
_Yes, what of it?_ he asked as he climbed into the shower.  
  
_Well, we're shopping for presents. I'll see you in a few hours.  
  
But who'll wash my back? _Draco mock pouted. _You always do it.  
  
Awww, poor baby. How will you ever survive?_ Harry teased, grinning.  
  
_I won't, so get back here._ Draco pouted and crossed his arms.  
  
_Fine, I won't buy you a birthday present and I'll come right back. It's so sad, because I had the best present picked out.  
  
HELL no! Buy it!_ Draco protested._ What are you getting me?  
  
I'm not going to tell you!  
  
Fine._ Harry rolled his eyes and gently put up a block between them. Draco chewed his lip, not liking the distance. Once Harry was back, he made it up to Draco.  
  
  
  
On May seventh, a Sunday, Harry woke up an hour early. Quietly, he woke his mother, father, Alanna, Xander, Emily, Eric, Blaise, Seamus, Ginny, Neville, Luna and the rest of the demigods and demigoddesses. _It's Draco's birthday,_ he sent out to their sleepy queries of what was wrong. _We have to set up the party!  
  
_ They quickly Apparated to the Chamber of Secrets and spent the next two hours getting the place ready.  
  
Draco awoke an hour and a half after Harry had left; vaguely feeling that something was off. He blearily stumbled into the shower. _What's going on?_ he asked silently, for the first time realizing that he had absolutely no idea where Harry was. _Harry? Where are you?  
  
Draco? Are you awake?  
  
No, I'm talking to you in my sleep. Of course I'm awake!_ Draco frowned. _Where are you?_ Harry silently Apparated into the bathroom and stripped.  
  
"Right behind you," Harry said slyly. Draco whipped around, spraying Harry across the face with water. Harry blinked and wiped his eyes. "Harry birthday, Love."  
  
"You remembered!" Harry found himself covered with sopping wet blond.  
  
"Of course." Harry leaned in and kissed Draco. "Want your present?" He kissed Draco again.  
  
Draco smirked then pouted playfully. "Is that all I'm going to get?"  
  
"Hell no." Harry pinned Draco against the shower wall, nipping his collar bone. Draco tensed, his eyes glazing over.  
  
"You better not stop," Draco growled. Harry began sucking on the sensitive spot on the back of Draco's neck and Draco's knees went weak as all the blood in his body went straight to his groin.  
  
Harry chuckled. "You're purring again, Love."  
  
Draco fiercely attached his lips to Harry's. _Shut up and kiss me.  
_  
Forty minutes later, they emerged from the shower both sporting a well debauched look, as well as several new hickeys and bite marks.  
  
_Are you ready? _Harry called to Alanna quietly, trying not to attract Draco's attention.  
  
_ Nope. We need a little while longer. Ok, a LOT while longer. You two were awfully loud. Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy had to take off for twenty minutes because of it, and Xander was really hot under the collar.  
  
They're here- wait, how did they hear us? We had our shields up except the link between you and me... _Harry asked suspiciously.  
  
_Well... _He could feel Alanna blushing.  
  
_ You clued them in, didn't you!  
  
Guilty as charged. They really liked the telepathy.  
  
Great, just effing great.  
  
Harry, who are you talking to?_ Draco asked, butting in on their conversation.  
  
_ Alanna.  
  
Hi Alanna!_ Draco cheerfully replied. _What's going on?  
  
Why don't you come on down and find out?_ Alanna said, mentally grinning.  
  
_ I want to visit Uncle Sev first,_ Draco said softly.  
  
_ I'm going with him to the Hospital Wing first and them we'll come down,_ Harry said resolutely, wrapping his arms around his now despondent soul mate. _We'll be a half an hour.  
  
That's fine._ Alanna pushed them from her mind and they Apparated to the Hospital Wing.  
  
Draco immediately strode into Severus and Laurel's room and sat down, taking his Godfather's hand in his own. _Uncle Sev, it's me again. So, it's been almost three months. Do you think you'll wake up soon?_ Absently he rubbed circles on Severus's hand, something Severus used to do to him when he had nightmares as a child. They sat for almost ten minutes, lost in their thoughts._ I wonder if you'll ever wake up,_ he muttered despondently. Harry rubbed his shoulders, trying to offer comfort.  
  
_He'll wake up, Draco,_ Harry murmured. _Just give him time. They'll be fine.  
  
How can you be so sure? It's been ten weeks!_ He slumped in his chair and rubbed his eyes. Harry sighed.  
  
"He'll wake up soon. You just have to have faith. Come on, we've been sitting here for a while. It's time to go see what Alanna wants." They stood up and walked to the door.  
  
_Wake up soon, Uncle Sev,_ Draco thought, chewing his lip as they walked out the door.  
  
_Mmm, Draco? _A sleepy voice answered him. They both whipped around and stared at the bed. Severus's facial muscles twitched. _Draco? Are you there?  
  
Yes, Uncle Sev. Harry and I are here. Are you and Laurel all right?_ They hurried back over and leaned over the bed.  
  
Severus sighed softly and opened his eyes, blinking against the sudden bright light. I _think so.  
_  
Laurel softly moaned and opened her eyes, staring at the unfamiliar surroundings. _Where am I?  
  
You're in the Hospital Wing,_ Harry said helpfully.  
  
_Who are you?_ she asked, confused. Slowly she turned her head and stared at Harry and Draco with confusion.  
  
_Their names are Harry and Draco,_ Severus said, trying to sit up. Draco and Harry rushed forward and grabbed an arm each, pulling him up. _Thank you.  
  
Sure. How are you feeling?_ Draco asked.  
  
_Other than the fact that I feel like I've slept for forever, surprisingly well.  
  
Laurel, how do you feel?_ Harry asked quietly.  
  
_Well, I'm not actively trying to end my life, so I guess all right,_ Laurel sighed, turning onto her side.  
  
Severus started to rub her back, his eyes filled with sorrow. "Come on, Laurel, it's time to get up now," he spoke aloud, a tremor on his velvety voice. He reached his arms around her and pulled her into a sitting position against his chest.  
  
"Do I have to? It hurts out here," she whispered.  
  
"Come on, Love, we can't spend any more time sleeping." Severus stiffly stood up and stretched before bending over and helping Laurel to her feet.  
  
"Umm, hello," Harry said quietly, smiling softly.  
  
She tentatively smiled in return. "Hello."  
  
She took a tentative step forward and rested her fingertips on Harry's temple. _You're the Harry that rescued me, aren't you. Thank you for doing that._ She stared at Draco for a second. _Thank you both.  
  
No problem,_ Draco drawled, a smile playing on his lips.  
  
Severus winced slightly, massaging a crick in his neck. "What day is it?" he asked softly.  
  
"It's May seventh," Harry answered promptly. _And we have a surprise party for Draco so get your stuff together and let's move so we can get started!  
_  
Severus's eyes widened. "Happy Seventeenth Birthday, Draco," he said, smiling and giving Draco a hug. _Harry, we've been out for ten whole weeks. We need showers and clothes and I haven't gotten him a present!  
_  
Apparently Draco heard the last bit. "Uncle Sev, your waking up is present enough. We didn't know when or if you would come back and we were really worried..." Draco trailed off, his eyes misting over. _I will NOT cry. Malfoys do NOT cry in public!  
  
_ Severus's jaw dropped. "Draco, why don't you give us a half an hour? We need to at the very least freshen up." _Harry...  
  
_ Harry nodded, wrapped Draco in his arms, Apparated them to their dorm room. Draco finally let the tears fall freely once they were alone. "They're awake," he whispered, smiling through his tears.  
  
An hour later, Severus and Laurel felt sufficiently refreshed, and Draco had calmed down enough that he was no longer breaking down into tears every few minutes.  
  
"All right, I know I shouldn't tell you," Harry began, "because the whole purpose of a surprise party is not knowing that it's coming." Draco's face lit up and he grabbed Harry in a hug.  
  
"You planned a surprise party for me?" he squealed.  
  
"Yes. But, since Sev and Laurel woke up, I know you're frazzled and..."  
  
"And I might just start the waterworks again. Thanks." Draco rested his head on Harry's shoulder, wiping away fresh tears. "I'll act surprised."  
  
"Then it's time to go. They're ready to jump out of small, dark spaces and yell at you."  
  
Draco gave him a funny look. "Are we still talking about the party?"  
  
Harry shrugged. "I honestly don't know."  
  
"Potter, some times you scare me." Harry chuckled as they Apparated.  
  
"SURPRISE!!!!" Everyone in the Chamber of Secrets screamed. Draco looked suitably surprised.  
  
"And, we have a surprise for you," Harry said once everyone was quiet. _Uncle Sev?  
_  
Severus and Laurel Apparated into the Chamber of Secrets. Lily's eyes widened in shock and she rushed forward, crushing Severus into a massive hug. "You're all right!" Laurel looked shocked for a brief second. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm Lily."  
  
"His sister," Laurel said softly, taking in all the strange, new faces around her. "You must be James, Lily's husband, and Remus, Sirius's mate and- SIRIUS!" Sirius rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Laurel. "You're all right, you're all right," she murmured over and over.  
  
Sirius smiled. "Yeah, James, Alanna and Xander got me out of there about the same time Draco, Harry and Severus were getting you. I think it worked out rather well, actually. Oh, we have it from a reliable source that Hell was destroyed."  
  
"What?" she asked, amazed.  
  
Severus's face turned white. "What happened after we left?" he demanded.  
  
"Um, wekindabondedandblewtheplaceup," Draco said in one breath.  
  
"Repeat that in English."  
  
"We bonded and blew the place up," Harry said cheerfully.  
  
Severus stared at him incredulously. "And why did you do that?" he asked slowly, certain that he was scared of the answer.  
  
"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Harry smirked. Severu's jaw worked for a second before he threw up his hands and stalked over to the bar to pour himelf a stiff drink.  
  
Laurel giggled. "You really did that? Oh, I would have paid good money to see the look on that sadistic bastard's face! You did get pictures, didn't you?"  
  
Draco grinned. "Even better. We have MEMORIES!"  
  
"Ohhh, let me see!" she squealed. Draco grinned and touched her temple, replaying the memories of the expression on Clautius's face with relish. "This is PRICELESS! Is it possible to make pictures of that?" she asked, a dreamy, maliciously evil expression on her face.  
  
"We could use a pensieve," Severus mused. Sirius grinned.  
  
"Way ahead of you, Severus. Remus, get my pensieve and the special camera."  
  
Remus nodded. "Is this going to be like the time we made pictures of McGonagall and Dumbledore?"  
  
Severus spat out the sip he had just taken of his firewhiskey and Lily gaped. "That was you???" they demanded. "Those pictures of the two of them shagging and- ooh, bad mental image!" Remus laughed and Apparated.  
  
Draco, Harry, Ginny, Blaise, Eric, Neville, Luna, Emily and Seamus all gagged. "What??" Harry snapped. "They were WHAT?"  
  
"Don't repeat it, I don't need the mental image associated with the words," Draco moaned, burying his head in his hands.  
  
Remus returned with the pensieve and a small camera. They spent the next half hour making pictures of Clautius, who looked so terrified he was about to piss himself. After that, Draco had his well deserved birthday party.  
  
  
  
"YOU BASTARD!!!" Lily screamed from inside the Hospital Wing. "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?????????"  
  
James ducked as a curse was thrown at him. "Lily, come on, you don't mean this, do you?" The shield on the wall behind him, a necessary precaution, flared bright green before disappearing.  
  
"HOW COULD YOU- AAAAARRRRGH!!!" she screamed, grimacing in pain. "YOU'LL NEVER TOUCH ME AGAIN!!!"  
  
"Just push, Mrs. Potter, push," Madam Pomfrey said soothingly. Lily glared daggers at her and pushed as hard as she could.  
  
Harry and Draco sat outside, waiting. They had been sitting there, waiting for almost ten hours for any news. Ginny had been there, but had just left, unfortunately having to attend classes as she had to take her OWLS in a week. They stood up as the door opened. James flew out and hit the wall with a soft thud. "Lily, you didn't mean that, right?"  
  
Severus poked his head out the door. "Potter, are you all right?"  
  
"Just peachy." James stood up and rubbed his back.  
  
"Good." He grabbed James by the front of his shirt and hauled him back into the Hospital Wing. "Lily needs you."  
  
"But-" Harry sighed as the door was shut in their face yet again. "I hate waiting. Olivia and Gaila are in there and helping and know what's going on!"  
  
"Harry, you don't want to be in there," Draco said with a pained expression on his face. "You do not want to see your mother like that. Anyway, Olivia and Gaila are trained Mediwitches as well as Rowan and Gabrielle, and Severus is there for emotional support as well as making sure the potions work right."  
  
"I know, but, I HATE waiting!" Harry pounded his fist into his hand and slid into a crouched position, his back propped against the stone wall.  
  
"I for one, think it's wonderful," Draco said with a grin.  
  
"What?" Harry asked incredulously. "What is so wonderful about this?"  
  
"Well, there is the celebration of new life, which just so happens to be taking place three days after my birthday and two and a half weeks before the end of school. So, it's wonderful on all accounts."  
  
"Oh yeah, listening to my mother scream-" he winced as the sound of something breaking against a wall filtered through the door, "at my father about his heritage is WONDERFUL," he said, dripping the last word with enough sarcasm to drown a horse.  
  
"So don't listen," Draco said, erecting a Silencing barrier.  
  
Harry knocked it down, just in time to hear another yelp of anguish. "I want to know when something happens! What's going on in there?"  
  
"Obviously, Mister Potter, your mother is having a baby," Severus growled, stalking from the room, his customary black robes covered with a light blue sterile medical gown. A matching mask was dangling from one ear and his hair had been pulled back into a low ponytail. "Now I need to go get more pain reducing potions," he said, obviously flustered.  
  
Harry sighed and reached out his hand. Instantly, seven vials floated in front of him. "You mean these?" Severus rolled his eyes and took them. "Wait! How far along is she?" Harry asked desperately.  
  
"Your brother will be here within an hour." Severus stalked back into the Hospital Wing, leaving Harry and Draco outside to stew. He rushed over to Lily's bed, where his sister lay panting against the sweat soaked white sheets. "Here you are, Lils," he murmured, resting a hand on her forehead. She gratefully gulped down a potion, the tension lines on her face easing.  
  
"Thank you," she managed, tensing as another contraction swept her already exhausted body. _Ten hours of hard labor and contractions... How did I ever last the twenty two that it took for Harry?  
_  
_ You were unconscious for half of it, and only three hours of it was hard contractions,_ Severus remarked wryly. He handed a Pepper Up Potion to James, who gulped it down eagerly.  
  
_Oh yeah,_ she said with a strained smile. _There was that.  
  
Besides, Gareth is balking a bit,_ Olivia said with a grimace.  
  
_ It seems he doesn't want to come out, _Gaila said with a twisted smile.  
  
_ Oh no,_ Lily groaned. _Gareth Alexander, you will come out now!  
_  
Forty minutes later, Lily, under Madam Pomfrey's coaching, gave one final push.  
  
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"  
  
Olivia and Gaila held the exquisite baby in their hands. "Awww, isn't he cute?" Olivia cooed, shaking a finger in front of Gareth's face. "Goochy, goochy goo!"  
  
Gareth just stared at them, an expression of extreme trepidation on his face.  
  
"We're going to have so much fun with you," Gaila cooed.  
  
Gareth opened his mouth. "WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. _Oh no, get me out of here! I want back in where it was safe!!!_ Desperately, he looked for the one who was safe, able to feel her with his mind but unable to see her.  
  
Lily stared at Gareth with extreme horror. "OH NO! HELL no!" she crossed her legs and pulled the blanket onto her lap. "Give him here," She ordered Gaila. Gaila pouted and handed Gareth over, still cooing at the screaming baby.  
  
Lily cradled Gareth to her chest and stroked his slightly pointed head. Immediately he stopped crying as waves of love and contentment swept over him. _Oh well,_ the infant thought. _If I can't go back in, this is the next best thing.  
_  
Severus burst out laughing. "Can I let your other, extremely worried son in now?" he asked, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.  
  
With a wave of her wand, Madam Pomfrey made the soiled and bloody linens disappear, instantly replaced with clean, dry bedding. Lily's bed lengthened and the stirrups disappeared, and she was instantly sweat and body fluids free. Severus walked over and opened the door, falling over as the two teenagers tumbling in on top of him.  
  
"OOF!" he grunted. "Please remove yourselves from on top of me," he wheezed.  
  
"Sorry, Uncle Sev," the two demigods chorused. Anxiously, Harry and Draco almost ran to Lily's bedside.  
  
"Mum! Are you all right?" Harry asked.  
  
Lily turned an extremely exhausted face to him. "Your brother has finally decided to grace us with his presence," she said with a smile, handing the newborn to Harry. Harry cradled him in his arms, marveling at how tiny his new brother was.  
  
"Hello, Gareth," Harry whispered, holding out a finger attatched to the arm that wasn't holding the baby. Gareth took the offered finger and started sucking on it enthusiastically.  
  
"He's so cute!" Draco murmured, gently tracing the outline of Gareth's face with a finger.  
  
James stood behind him, extremely proud. _Two wonderful sons, lovely wife,_ he thought to himself, staring at Lily, love almost tangibly erupting from his heart.  
  
Severus grinned despite his resolve to remain stoic. _You will NOT get sappy,_ _Severus Angelo Snape! _he rebuked himself firmly when he felt tears prickling at the corners of his eyes.  
  
Come on, the birth of yet another nephew is certainly a reason to get sappy, Alanna remarked from the doorway. "Is this the newest of us?"  
  
Harry grinned and nodded. "He's so powerful. It's incredible how much power is coming from such a tiny body," he said softly. Gareth yawned and closed his eyes. Harry carried him back to Lily, who motioned to James. James took his sleepy newborn from his oldest son and rocked him back and forth, humming softly. Alanna peered at him from over James's shoulder, a silly grin on her face.  
  
Draco grinned. "Pacabel's Canon. My mother used to sing that to me," he mused.  
  
_ Do you know the counterpart?_ James asked, not missing a beat. Draco nodded. _Well sing then.  
_  
Severus grinned as Draco walked over to James, starting the counter part to the basic canon. Gareth slept on, secure with his family.  
  
  
  
One week later, Harry and Draco stood outside the Great Hall, where Ginny was about to start her OWLS. Lily and James had left three days ago with Gareth, going home to Potter Manor to make the place ready to be habitated. "Good luck, sis," Harry said affectionately, ruffling hair. Luna stood nearby with a dreamy expression on her face, biting her lip.  
  
"Now, Ginny, I expect no less than Os in Potions, Defense, Transfigurations, Charms, Ancient Runes, and Arithmancy," Draco admonished, shaking a finger at her.  
  
"And what about the rest?" Ginny asked with a grin. "What about Care of Magical Creatures, Astronomy, History, Herbology and Divination?"  
  
Draco hugged her. "They don't matter. Just do your best."  
  
Harry joined in the hug. "You'll do fine." They stood that way until Professor McGonagall cleared her throat sharply.  
  
They let her go and she skipped into the Great Hall, arm in arm with Luna.  
  
"Well, it's time for us to take our end of the year exams," Harry said with a sigh.  
  
Draco scowled. "If we must." He stuck his nose in the air as he swaggered up the the Defense Agaisnt the Dark Arts classroom. "Out of the way, Slytherin Ice Prince and Sex God coming through!" Harry walked after him, trying not to fall over from laughter.  
  
They breezed through their exams, passing every one with flying colors.  
  
  
  
The next week was a flurry of summer assignments being handed out, final grades tallied, and packing. The last day of school, Harry and Draco cleaned the Chamber of Secrets, bringing any and all perishables back to their room to be packed (as well as several bottles of alcohol), stored the pool tables, cue sticks and everything else before sealing the Chamber.  
  
At last, it was time to board the train.  
  
Harry, Draco, Blaise, Ginny, Dudley, Eric, Emily, Seamus, Neville and Luna crowded into a compartment. Draco produced a bottle of firewhiskey, and they became pleasantly drunk while playing the game Truth or Dare. However, this game had an interesting addendum. You could either choose Truth, Dare or two shots. With the everfilling bottle, they became quickly plastered, with the dares and truths becoming even more ludicrous by the second.  
  
Blaise finally, in a burst of drunken inspiration, dared Harry to run up and down the train wearing only his school robe and a tie tied around his head. Giggling, an equally drunk Harry agreed and stripped, wrapping his robe around his shoulders and letting Daco tie the tie around his head.  
  
He took off running, yelling like a banshee, but skidded to a halt in front of an open compartment. Cautiously, well as cautiously as a drunken person could, he crept to within hearing distance.  
  
"Hermione, I know we've been dating for almost a year now, and it's a very short time, but..." Harry heard Ron trail off and swallow noisily. "But we're already bonded, so I want to make it official. Will you marry me?"  
  
Flabbergasted, Harry peeked around the corner to see Ron holding a small black box with a diamond ring outstretched to a quickly tearing Hermione. _Oh my God... that's so sweet!_ he thought dazedly as he watched Ron slide the ring onto Hermione's finger. He ran back to his compartment silently.  
  
"Hey, you'll never guess what I just saw!" he burst in excitedly. Everyone looked up at him and his still obvious state of undress.  
  
"What?" Draco asked his eyes unfocused.  
  
"Ron proposed to Hermione and he said they were already bonded! When did that happen? Oh, and Draco it's your fault they're getting married because you got them together." Draco just looked at him strangely.  
  
"It happened over winter break when they went home to the Burrow," Ginny said. "Mum wrote me about an earthquake that hit the house."  
  
"Just an earthquake?" Harry asked.  
  
"There were scorch marks on Ron's walls and she was worried that Ron was a pyro or something."  
  
"Nope, Hermione's the pyro," Neville said with a giggle.  
  
"Really, the Weasel- I mean Ronald and Hermione are getting married?" Draco said, giggling slightly. "We'll have hundreds of red, bushy haired know it all children running around before long."  
  
Ginny giggled. "I shouldn't laugh, but that's funny!"  
  
Four hours later, they pulled into Kings Cross station. Draoc passed out Sobriety potions, which they gulped down as if their lives depended on it.  
  
"Oh, Lord, I actually went STREAKING???" Harry moaned.  
  
"Oh Lord, I actually let my soul mate go STREAKING?" Draco moaned a split second later.  
  
"Oh Lord, I saw Harry Potter naked and I didn't even make a pass or try to grope him!" Seamus swore vehemently.  
  
Harry and Draco glared at Seamus as they pulled on their street clothes.  
  
"What?" Seamus asked, confused. "What did I say?"  
  
Harry, Draco, Ginny and Dudley stepped off the train together, trying to prolong the parting as long as possible. Lucius and Narcissa stood next to Petunia, Lily and James, talking animatedly. Bill stood to their side with Ceily, eyeing the Malfoys cooly until Lucius reached over and extended his hand, a small smile gracing his features. Bill relaxed and shook his hand.  
  
"Bill!" Ginny yelled, running over. Bill grinned and swept her up into his arms. "Hey, small stuff," he greeted her. "How were the OWLS?" They walked off, chatting happily.  
  
_Harry, I'll see you over summer,_ Ginny called as they met up with thr rest of the Weaseley family._ That is, if Bill doesn't drag me off to Egypt.  
  
Stop thinking like a mortal without super godly powers,_ Harry chided her with a smile. _I'll Apparate and see you or you'll Apparate and see me. Either way it'll work, and, besides, Egypt sounds like fun!  
  
Bye, bro.  
  
Bye. Have fun.  
  
_ Dudley and Petunia hugged. Lily looked over at her sister. "You're welcome at Potter Manor whenever you wish," she said quietly. Petunia's eyes misted over and she nodded, leading Dudley to the waiting car.  
  
_Bye Dudley.  
  
You better invite me to your mansion, _Dudley warned, mock threateningly.  
  
_And if I don't?_ Harry teased back.  
  
Dudley pouted. _Please?  
  
Bye Dudley._ Harry grinned evilly.  
  
_ But-  
  
Bye Dudley.  
  
Fine, be that way. Bye, Harry.  
  
_ Lucius and Narcissa walked hand in hand over to Draco and embraced their smirking son. Draco turned around. _I'll see you later on tonight, Harry, _he promised before striding to the waiting limo.  
  
_ You better,_ Harry grinned as Lily and James swept him into a hug. "I've wanted this for six years," he mumured, tears sliding down his face. Lily and James held him for a long time before Apparating the three of them to an impressive stone manor surrounded by lush gardens.  
  
"Welcome home, Harry," Lily and James said quietly, taking his trunks and leading him inside.  
  
He grinned as he walked through the massive oak front doors. _I'm home.  
_  
A/N: WAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!! It's done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My little baby's all complete and everything!!!! It's so sad!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh well, onto the sequel. Thank you to all my reviewers! Cookies for everyone! I hope you like chocolate chip! I make the best!  
  
B/N: Ok, now I'm pissed! It is strictly reserved to the Beta to give out cookies!!! And I **_MAKE THE BEST COOKIES,_** you backstabbing shit! (notice how a part of that sentence is not only CAPITALIZED, but _italicized_, **bold **and underlined... yeah, that's wicked shibby) Anywho, I would also like to thank the readers. This was my first-ever Beta job, and you all made it an enlightening and enjoyable experience... That is to say that I had a place to practice my grammar so that I don't fail miserably come the new school year, and that Laura being happy made me happy. .... .... Ok, not really, but if she is sad, she makes everyone else sad, so thank you for not allowing that to happen. Speaking of the new school year, I start my first year of high school at Loyola Academy located in Wilmette, IL. WAHOO!!! I'm gonna be a Freshman!!!.... .... Oh no, I'm gonna be a Freshman. Oh well, if I don't survive, then my friend Gabbi will have to take over the Betaing job. Oops, sorry to get your hopes up, Gabbster, 'cause I ain't goin' nowhere!  
  
**_ ON TO THE SEQUAL!!!!!!!!!!  
_** (I just love that, don't you?)  
  
_ This ends the sixth year of Harry Potter according to ME! Stay tuned for the Sequel, A Fine Line Between Heaven and Hell, coming to a Fan Fiction.Net near you!!!!_


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